Both Carolyn Koebel and Elizabeth Start are busy professional musicians based in Kalamazoo -- Koebel as a percussionist with An Dro, Elden Kelly, and the Dacia Bridges Project. and Start as a classical cellist and composer who plays with the Kalamazoo Symphony and the Elgin Symphony. Their roles as music organizers cause their paths to cross regularly, and a few months ago, they made a plan to collaboratively finish their own holiday albums, and release them in a joint concert. On Thursday, December 7 at 7 pm at First Baptist Church of Kalamazoo, the two resulting seasonal albums, Love's Pure Light and A Very Cello Christmas will be available at a live concert featuring Start and Koebel and additional performers.
In a musical preview interview with Cara Lieurance, Koebel explains that her role in Love's Pure Light was to bring together the contributions of nearly a dozen musicians, most prominently hammered dulcimer player Doug Berch. For her part, Elizabeth Start focused on the solo cello arrangements she'd written for herself after finding others' arrangements weren't up to snuff.
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