Old-time country duo headlining school fundraiser
GAIL GOEKE PHOTO
Tony Brown, Autoharp, left, plus Jesse Graber, center, on fiddle; and banjoist Steve Goeke — both of whom perform regularly as the Quasi Brothers Southern string music duo — are shown during a recent rehearsal. The three musicians will appear during a benefit concert for the Lydia Patterson Institute, a mission supported by the First United Church of Maryville, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, in the church’s Gathering Space.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Quasi Brothers, one of the top traditional country and old-time music acts in the Kansas City area, will perform a benefit concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23 in the Gathering Space at the First United Methodist Church of Maryville, 102 N. Main St.
Admission is free, but freewill donations will be accepted on behalf of the Lydia Patterson Institute, a private middle school and high school in El Paso, Texas, operating under the auspices of the United Methodist Church.
First United Methodist’s senior pastor, the Rev. Scott Moon of Maryville, sits on the century-old school’s board of directors, and the local church, in addition to funding a full Lydia Patterson scholarship, frequently sends volunteers to the school both to improve brick-and-mortar facilities and to assist staff in various administrative tasks.
The institute’s primary mission, Moon said, is to prepare students for college while teaching English as a second language to young people, often from lower-income families, living on both sides of the border.
He said that about half the students are U.S. citizens, and that many of the their parents cross the border daily to work in El Paso, neighboring Juárez, Mexico, and the surrounding area.
Moon added that many Lydia Patterson graduates go on to become the first members of their families to attend college, a mission, he said, that has parallels with Northwest Missouri State University.
Maryville Forum reporter Tony Brown, an amateur folk musician who will serve as emcee during the Sept. 23 concert, as well as perform briefly, said he and Moon decided to organize the benefit after a similar event put together by the First Presbyterian Church and local Red Cross volunteer Shoba Brown raised several thousand dollars for hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.
“We both realize that the Maryville and Nodaway County communities have a tremendous heart for helping others — including people who live hundreds, even thousands, of miles, beyond northwest Missouri,” Brown said.
“This show — which will be a wonderful experience for anyone who enjoys old-time country and southern string music played on authentic vintage instruments — is yet one more opportunity for folks in this area to support a great cause and have a great time while doing it.”
In a time when relations with Mexico are clouded with controversy over immigration and trade issues, Moon said the Lydia Patterson Institute is a beacon of hope and promise dedicated to student success and training future leaders who, in years to come, will spur economic development and progress on both sides of the border.
“These kids succeed,” Moon said, “ I was first hooked on the institute in 1991 when, after having heard about it for years, I decided to visit them. Once I was there and saw what they did — well, their story is very compelling. Lydia Patterson is a place of hope.”
Brown, with and without the Quasi Brothers, has played several benefit shows that together raised well over $1,000 for the Nodaway County Historical Society, and is hoping the larger performance space available at First United Methodist will draw a bigger crowd and prove equally successful.
“We set the show for mid-afternoon on a Sunday in hopes that folks will go to church, go home and have a good family dinner, and then join us at First Methodist for some southern string music played by two of the best practitioners of the art in this part of the country,” Brown said. “Anyone who likes ringing banjos and singing fiddles is going to have a great time.
“Also, the Quasi Brothers have just released their first studio CD and will have some copies available for sale and to sign. So folks who like the music — and with these guys what’s not to like — can take some of it home with them.”
LYDIA PATTERSON INSTITUTE PHOTO
Lydia Patterson Institute students are shown studying in class. The school, located in El Paso, Texas, on the United States-Mexico border has served for more than a century as a preparatory institution dedicated to readying graduates for success at the university level. “These kids succeed,” said the Rev. Scott Moon, Maryville, who sits on the school’s board of directors. … Lydia Patterson is a place of hope.” The Quasi Brothers, a Southern string music duo from Kansas City and local folk musician Tony Brown will perform a benefit concert for the institute at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, in the First United Methodist Church Gathering Space.
