Upcoming concert maybe SCCCA finale

The Shoshone County Community Concert Association would like to invite the public to a free concert that concludes the Covid-delayed 2020 membership season and maybe the finale of the 80-year-old organization.

The concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 23, at St. Rita's Catholic Church in Kellogg will feature Heidi Muller and Bob Webb performing original songs and traditional tunes from the Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific Northwest.

The duo uses dulcimers, guitars, mandolin, and electric cello, as well as Muller's crystalline vocals, to bring mountain music and folklore to life.

Muller and Webb have performed and toured together since 2003. They taught music in the rural coalfields of West Virginia for several years and co-founded Music Mentors, an afterschool program for at-risk, inner-city children in Charleston, WVa. They now live in Oregon and continue to perform, teach and tour throughout the country.

Following the concert, the public is invited to a reception hosted by the Catholic Daughters.

The Shoshone County Community Concert Association had originally scheduled Muller and Webb for September 2020, however, the Covid epidemic changed those plans. The SCCCA Board is delighted to offer this concert as a gift to the community.

The SCCCA Board is considering disbanding the organization unless new volunteers are willing to step forward in leadership positions. Tasks include writing grants, contacting and scheduling artists, arranging with area schools to offer outreaches (mini-concerts), and seeing to the technical and housing needs of the musicians.

SCCCA dates back to the fall of 1941. The U.S. was on the brink of entering World War II. “Citizen Kane” was a hit at the box office. Fast food drive-ins were popping up everywhere. A gallon of gas cost 12 cents, silver was selling for 35 cents an ounce, and a group of area residents was launching an organization to bring outstanding musical performances to the Silver Valley.

The Kellogg Civic Concert Association – which later became the Shoshone County Community Concert Association – held its first concert in February of 1942, featuring pianist Percy Granger. That fall, the association became affiliated with Columbia Artists of New York and brought the world-renowned Don Cossack Chorus and Dancers to the valley. Subsequent years would bring many more up-and-coming international artists to local venues.

Membership reached an all-time high of 930 in the early 1950s when Shoshone County hit its peak population of 22,806. In recent years, membership has hovered around 100 households. In those early years, Idaho had many community concert associations. Today, SCCCA may be the only one remaining as others have disappeared for lack of interest or finances.

Anyone interested in keeping the organization alive may talk to board members at the October 23 concert. The current board, most of whom have served for 10 years, will make a final decision in November.