Faith Reflection
Music, friends find each other
By Julie Arndt, Messenger Editor
22 December 2024
St. Mark’s was the place to be Sunday afternoon, 12/15.
“This has just been such a blessing, being with all of you today” Amelia Osborne told me during the post-concert reception on Sunday. “We have wanted to come here for such a long time and are so grateful that God gave us this opportunity.”
I first met Tom Eure and Amelia Osborne in a Zoom meeting about three years ago when we worked on a North Carolina Synod committee, studying Native American issues and sharing the findings with congregations.
As time passed and conversations deepened into spiritual matters, a friendship began forming.
We talked about music, of course, and writing and art and how art has the power to bring people together.
We met in person that summer at the Synod Gathering, where our team presented an “awareness session,” to share our work with others around the synod. It felt so good to be able to connect in person finally.
I don’t remember exactly when we first started talking about them coming to St. Mark’s for a visit and visit and a performance. Tom and I think it started right away, and he’s probably right.
Not really sure it matters much. Just glad it happened.
Like Amelia said, a blessing.
The first time I heard their music at that gathering, I truly learned to appreciate these two loving, faithful, free-spirited humans for whom art and music are expressions of joy, prayers, and hope.
A largely self-taught musician, Tom is responsible for writing many of the songs they perform. With influences that encompass the breadth of the musical spectrum, their richly layered blend of the traditional with Celtic, mountain, bluegrass, and folk sounds, they engage an audience with humor, faith, and the sheer love of making music.
“I really don’t have a favorite instrument to play,” Tom said. “I think guitar was the first, and I was a big fan of the Beatles and Cat Stevens back in the day. I learned to play by sitting in front of people when they played, learning a few tricks here and there. I never was patient enough to sit through music lessons.”
Amelia’s background is visual art. She has learned to play banjo and guitar in the nine years ahe and Tom have been together, but her true specialty is the bohdran, a frame drum of Irish origin, that provides the grounding for many of their tunes. “It’s a very ancient instrument, deceptively complex, and it creates so many different sounds, depending on how and where you beat it. It works well for the kind of music we play, and it’s really fun to play.”
Their performances are more than just seen. They are experienced, as Tom and Amelia encourage participation. “Get up and dance a jig if you feel like it, clap, sing with us if you know the words. Music is an experience that’s better when it’s shared with people who love it,” says Amelia.
Love you guys. See you next time.
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