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| Past
Performance Groups Verlene has performed in and around the San Francisco Bay Area with various musical groups ranging in style from Early Music to Celtic and Scandinavian Folk Music to Jazz and Blues. Although these groups are listed as "past performance groups," several will still perform concerts together when the opportunities arise! Scroll down to see all the groups, or click on a link to jump directly to:
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In a duo
with mountain dulcimer player, Neal Hellman, Verlene
plays harp and nyckelharpa. They
play a variety of music ranging from Medieval and
Renaissance to Celtic, American, and Scandinavian folk,
to pop tunes of the 60s. They started with dulcimer and
harp with vocals, but when Neal asked Verlene to play
her Swedish nyckelharpa in the ensemble for his Emma's
Waltz CD release concert at Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz, the
nyckelharpa became an integral part of the duo's sound. Neal, a nationally acclaimed performer and teacher of the mountain dulcimer, has been active in performing, writing, teaching, and recording acoustic music for over 25 years throughout the US, Europe, and New Zealand. Neal's recording company, Gourd Music, has produced numerous CDs of instrumental music. See their repertoire Watch videos Listen to a recording from a live KPIG radio show: I Will Bow and Be Simple |
Duo with Jim Nichols  |
In a duo
with jazz guitarist Jim Nichols, Verlene plays harp and
violin. They play primarily for weddings and other
events. Jim's impressive credentials include appearances on television, radio, concert halls, and clubs including Carnegie Hall and the Tonight Show. Jim is featured on "World of Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar" for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop and has a Jazz instruction video on Mel Bay. Verlene met Jim at Stanford Hospital where both are hospital musicians. The two would play a few duets between shifts in the Cancer Center, and people would stop by to say how much they liked the sound of harp and guitar. When they were asked to play for an event, they worked up a set of diverse tunes for guitar and harp, fiddle and vocals, in styles from the folk music of bluegrass and old-timey, Celtic and other world music traditions, to jazz, blues and popular tunes of the last 50 years. See their repertoire Listen to recordings from an outdoor performance: Carolan's Receipt Blackberry Blossom Hewlitt Midnight on the Water |
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Verlene enjoyed playing with Gaelic Muses
from 2022 - 2023. Gaelic Muses is a three-women band
celebrating Celtic music of Ireland, Scotland, Canada,
and the World. Beautiful, Energetic, Playful, and
Passionate! Lynda MacNeil on keyboards, guitar, harp, and vocals Alison Kline on recorders (of all sizes!), violin, and guitar Verlene Schermer on violin, nyckelharpa, mandolin, concertina, guitar, harp, and vocals Lynda and Alison had been performing together as Gaelic Muses along with a third member for over 10 years. Verlene was brought in as a new member in January of 2022. The trio performed regularly in venues in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Verlene and Lynda continue to make music together as Celtic Moon! See their recent repertoire Watch videos |
Nykken |
Nykken
has taken a break from performing, but they have
produced a CD that is great fun to listen to, and
Verlene continues to offer Scandinavian presentations to
organizations, introducing the instruments and
performing the music of Sweden and Norway. With Nykken, Verlene played harp-guitar, nyckelharpa, hardingfele, violin, cittra, and harp and sang in Swedish. She also arranged most of the music for the trio. Barbary Grant played harp, cello and accordion and sang in Norwegian. The first configuration included Enid Bennion on nyckelharpa, and the final configuration included Kris Yenney on Hardanger cello d'Amore, and nyckelharpa. See their recent repertoire Buy their CD |
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Verlene put
together a band of her studio musicians for concerts to
feature her original songs. The band has performed at harp
conferences, at local venues such as Don Quixote's, and at
Stanford Hospital in the Bing Music Series. The musicians include Don Frank on drums, Preston Carter on bass, and Jeff Buenz (another colleague at Stanford Hospital) on guitar, all of whom played on her CD, Peace. Verlene met drummer, Don Frank, when his rock band took voice lessons from her when he was still in high school. She asked him to play drums on her Rendezvous with the Moon CD, and he has played on every CD since then. Preston has played with Verlene the longest, having met at the CCMC camp in 2004. He has played bass on 5 of her 6 CDs. Verlene has played Celtic harp, electric harp, and cross-strung harp in this band, and has brought in guest musicians at times. See their repertoire Watch videos |
To The Moon |
Another group
on a break from live
performances is To the Moon. Their 3-part vocal harmonies
is a defining feature, but they are also all versatile
musicians, with Claudia Slayman on harp, guitar, ukulele
and percussion, Deb Knodel on harp, and electric bass, and
Verlene on harp, guitar, nyckelharpa, and fiddle. Verlene
also did most of the vocal arranging for the trio. Their music included jazz, pop, and Celtic tunes, and rehearsals and concerts were always filled with laughter and fun -- a result of making music with dear friends! See their recent repertoire Watch videos |
Heartbreak
Motet |
Verlene met Vicki Parrish and Michael
Robinson through Harpers Hall, and then was in the
Collegium Musicum at SJSU for a few semesters along with
Michael. The ensemble played medieval and Renaissance
music, and Verlene fell in love with the music and
instruments. The group formed to continue playing the
repertoire and played together for several years. Verlene played wire & nylon strung harps, cross-strung harp, treble viola da gamba, alto, soprano and sopranino recorders, bowl back mandolin, bowed psaltery, and sang both soprano and alto. Vicki played wire & nylon strung harps, bass viola da gamba, soprano and alto recorders, flute, and sang both soprano and alto. Michael played lute, viola di braccio, guitar, mandola, tenor viola da gamba, tenor and bass recorders, whistle, baroque flute, and sang tenor. See their repertoire Listen to a recording |
