Northwoods Youth Symphony

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An Inherited Gift

Kris inherited the violin of her grandmother and wanted to have one of her children learn to love it as her great grandmother once did. Kris's daughter Ariel Cunningham began studying violin in third grade and now studies with Kathy Klein in Three Lakes.

Mrs. Klein was the principal violinist of the Beloit symphony and is a retired orchestra teacher from the Beloit School District. For a long time, Ariel was the only violin student in Three Lakes. With the dream of giving string students a chance to play in a group setting, Kris called around the area to locate a conductor.

John Beard, the conductor of the Wausau Youth Symphony, said it would be fun to see if there was enough interest to sustain a Youth Symphony in the Northwoods (which covers the northern part of Wisconsin into the upper peninsula of Michigan). Kathy Klein agreed to help.