We had a great time in South Dakota kicking off our Christmas Concerts - three down and 19 more to go! Our wonderful friends Dale and Ruth Paulsen came to all three of them! We counted it up, and this Christmas season we will load and unload our equipment more than 80 TIMES! We will spend more than 2 compete 24 hr. days just moving our equipment and setting up. :)
An Evening with David Wheaton!
We had the amazing opportunity to hear the former tennis star David Wheaton speak on Saturday night! It was fascinating to hear David's story of tennis interwoven with his road to faith in Christ. David won the US Open junior title 1987 and was ranked No. 1 Junior player in the US. He went on to win the Grand Slam Cup in Munich and toured the world playing tennis!
At age 22, David came to a crossroads, choosing to pursue Christ first in his life. Continuing on in his tennis career, he ranked No. 12 nationally in singles, and won the senior doubles at Wimbledon! Thanks David for sharing with us!
The First Snowfall of the Winter!
A foot of snow...who would have guessed? Even for Iowa, that's a little much for the first snowfall of the year, but hey, who's complaining? The snow started to fall just as we were finishing up winterizing our farm. All the young fruit trees, blackberries, strawberries, and tender garden plants have been tucked in for the winter. Ready or not, welcome to winter!
Oh the first snowfall of the winter
Was a day that we all waited for
When it drifted to and fro
Why you should've seen the snow
It was near seven feet or more
By the old barn door
Oh the first snowfall of the winter
What a joy for a boy to behold
In each house you'll find a sleigh
That was waiting for this day
And of course, down the road a hill
For each Jack and Jill
A Mammoth Viola Bow!
Ever wanted to see a Mammoth Tusk in real life?? Well NOW you can at one of our performances! Luke's viola bow tip is REAL Mammoth Tusk - who would have ever guessed that a mammoth would be making music hundreds of years after it's death? :) Does that make Luke "Mammothly good"? :P
Brand New Christmas Video, Mystery!
Our Christmas Music Video, Mystery, is finally here! Watch it on YouTube, and if you enjoy it, please share it with your friends! This is the perfect time to share the REAL story of Christmas – a Holy Baby, come to live a perfect life, die on the cross, and give us the GIFT of salvation! Don't forget to “Like” our video after you watch it and subscribe to us on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ71fw1CC8E
#MusicVideo #Christmas #ChristmasSong
A Violin Recital and Competition!
Karen competed in the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist String Competition, and won the state competition this last Saturday! She will move on to district, which take place in Wichita, Kansas in January!
Here are some pictures from her violin recital she gave in September! (and a couple from the competition with her teacher and accompanist) Enjoy!
"Ballade" by Ysaye - an unaccompanied violin solo
Thank you to all of our friends who came out and and enjoyed a night of music with Karen! We enjoyed chatting with you at the reception afterword!
Who doesn't LOVE a red dress?
Karen's former violin teacher, Theresa Fetter. Theresa spent many years teaching Karen. If you can't tell, they're still friends. :)
Our neighbor/adopted grandma, Lois Stork.
What is a violin recital without flowers? Mom picked up this lovely bouquet for Karen!
Karen and her violin teacher Fred Halgedahl. Gotta love those teachers - they do a wonderful job.
Karen had an amazing accompanist - Dr. Dimitri Vorobiev!
We were excited that Grandpa and Grandma drove the 8 hours up from Kansas to visit us for the week leading up to Karen's violin recital! We had a wonderful time with them!
New Christmas Music Video This Week!
We're releasing our FIRST EVER CHRISTMAS MUSIC VIDEO this week!
Click this link https://goo.gl/UMkr3p to subscribe to our YouTube channel, so you can see the video as soon as it comes out!
(Subscribing to us on YouTube really helps us out, and motivates us to make more videos!) :)
30 Days until our Christmas Concerts Begin!
With summer and its outdoor performances long gone, Christmas is right around the corner! Today starts the 30 day count down until we perform the first of our 21 Christmas concerts this year! We are bringing our performance to 5 different states - check our schedule to see if you can make it to a concert!
http://www.thejohnsonstrings.com/2015/
#ChristmasConcerts #Christmas
Reformation Day Party
Here's a picture with our fans the Blakemores from a Reformation Day Party we performed at on Friday! We had a great time! They really came decked out for Reformation Day!
The Legend of El Ricoh!
Performing The Magnificent Seven Overture - the play is about to begin!
Old Marshall Mose hands his badge and guns over to Josh, making him "Sheriff Josh"
God speaks to Josh "Be strong and courageous, for you’ll be the one to give this land to the Strangers, which I promised to their forefathers to give them".
The Texas Strangers gathering "Hardtack" in the wilderness for food.
Meeting in the Texas Stranger's camp. God has spoken: it's time to enter the Promised Land - TEXAS!.
Mother: "Now you count your blessings, young’un. If there weren’t no hardtack, what would have kept us from goin’ hungry the last forty years?" Texas Young'un wishes for "Cheese!" that wonderful treat they'd only heard about while wandering about in the desert for 40 years.
Sheriff Josh to Caleb: "We're about to walk through the river on dry ground!"
Having safely crossed over the river, the Texas Strangers erect a monument so future generations will know that God is faithful.
Salmon and Iishi disguised in El Rican deputy clothing heading out to search the promised land - Texas!
The spies checking out El Ricoh find a place to stay in town - Rahab's Inn!
Rahab: "Well, mercy me! Spies?! They was here sure enough. Didn’t say where they was comin’ from, and they left right quick; didn’t say where they was goin’ neither. Maybe you can catch ‘em, if’n you hurry!"
The infamous Ruby and Pearl - smitten with the spies from out of town...spies who have "muscles"!
Catching the local gossip...
Jessie Belle's - the best mac 'n' cheese for miles around!
Bad news, Sheriff, The Texas Strangers have crossed the river and are coming!
Panic is rising in El Ricoh!
Pandemonium reigns as the El Ricoh walls are about to collapse!
Happy endings
The Promised Land lies before you!
Curtain Call
The whole cast of the Legend of El Ricoh! What you don't see is the amazing backstage crew - when it came to curtains, cues, props, and everything else, they did a great job!
The Main Cast with the director.
Aleita - the director/co-writer of the play did a fantastic job putting the whole performance together!
And last but definitely not least is the Sound and Lighting Team! These guys work incredibly hard to keep the show going smoothly. Hiding behind the duck dynasty beards is Nathan Corduan, Josiah Duggar, Richard Shoemaker, and John-David Duggar!
Photo Credit: A BIG thanks goes to the whole ALERT Family Camp Camera Crew - You did an AMAZING job capturing the whole week!
#iaafamilycamp2015 #iaafamilycamp
Texas Family Camp Bicycle Parade!
While we were at Family Camp, we were part of the 1st Annual Kid's Bicycle Parade! It was so much fun to see all the children decorate their bicycles in red, white, and blue and then have a great time actually being the parade for their parents and siblings! The convention center was a hub of excitement, where everybody was given balloons and streamers to decorate their bikes, trikes, scooters, and whatever else they rode on!
Tuning up while we were waiting for the parade to start... The four "mobile" ones of us played fiddle tunes while we walked, so OF COURSE we had to decorate our instruments too! :)
ALERT Color Guard! (ALERT stands for Air Land Emergency Resource Team) The family camp is held at their base and training center.
The parade just beginning - it's turning out onto the road from behind the convention center.
The Grand Marshall of the parade was Lew Sterrett of "Sermon on the Mount" Ministries and Ransom Wind Ranch.
Some of our friends from the El Ricoh play were part of the parade!
Here they all come!
The diving team float passing us - as we neared the end of the parade route, we joined the rest of our group performing on a hay wagon next to the parade announcer.
Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony
He stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni!
Photo Credit: A BIG thanks goes to the whole ALERT Family Camp Camera Crew - You did an AMAZING job capturing the whole week!
The Legend of El Ricoh!
We are having a great time at the ALERT Family Camp this year in Texas! Monday night we were the "orchestra" for the much anticipated musical drama "The Legend of El Ricoh!" We teamed up with the ALERT staff and battalion to tell the story of the battle of Jericho with a humorous "Texan" twist with everybody ending up in the "Promised Land" - Texas!
Keep an eye out for more pictures later!
Special thanks to Jonathan and Aleita for producing and directing the play!
#iaafamilycamp2015 #iaafamilycamp
Upcoming Performances!
Check out our updated performance schedule at our Tour Page! Our Christmas Season is really filling up fast - 19 Christmas Concerts and Counting!
Fall Church Service at our Barn!
You're Invited! We are hosting a concert at our barn this Sunday morning (9/27/15)! The service starts at 10:00 am and there is a potluck dinner afterwards, with lawn games available for those who want to have some fun! We'd love to see you here! Our street address is: 11389 T Ave, New Hartford, IA 50660.
New Music Video Released!
NEW MUSIC VIDEO RELEASED - B Minor!
Watch it on YouTube, and if you enjoy it, please like the video, write a quick comment on YouTube, and subscribe to our channel! (If you are wondering, those 3 easy steps help us and our video out A LOT!) Thanks! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3zNhbdgBhw