In 1993, John Ziegler, a guitarist from Philadelphia living in Cottonwood, was approached by two of his friends, Herb and Linda Trubitz, who own the Mount Hope Food store. The Trubitz had the idea for an annual holiday concert, bringing together local musicians to provide holiday cheer for the community.
Now 26 years later, the Circle of Friends holiday concert has grown to become a mainstay of Cottonwood’s Christmas season, bringing in more than a dozen performers and hundreds of attendees in the audience every year. But Ziegler has decided that this year’s concert, held Sunday Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mingus Union High School Auditorium, will be the 25th and last with him in charge.
“I said to Linda and Herb from Mount Hope, ‘This is going to be my last year. I think it’s a good year to end on,’” Ziegler said. “And their jaws dropped. But they looked around and they said, ‘Maybe that’s a good idea. Maybe we’ve run the gamut. Maybe it’s a good idea to let it rest after 25 years.’”
Ziegler said that his goals of making the concert more and more professional had succeeded
in recent years, as the performers transitioned from doing simple renditions of holiday favorites to performing original compositions and putting their own unique spin on the standards. Ziegler is pleased with the transition, but said that a higher level of professionalism requires a higher level of effort he cannot keep up with year after year.
“It seems to be consuming a lot more of my time each year,” Ziegler said. “Because I want to include more people. I want the show to be better than the last one, or as good as. Years ago I might have said, ‘Let’s get together and just learn this song and we’re good to go,” now it’s like, ‘Let’s learn this song and rehearse it, and then let’s learn it again and turn it inside out. Let’s see what we can do to make it even better.’”
“It’s just getting more and more challenging, along with this love for it.”
Ziegler hopes to ensure that the concert end on a high note. He feels that last year’s concert was the best one the Circle of Friends has ever held and is trying to make this year match it.
He touted the group’s reinterpretation of “Little Drummer Boy” with North African influences and heavy percussion as what he hopes will be a highlight of the night, and is excited for the original compositions in addition to the holiday canon — “Forever ’Til December” by Kirk Burnett, who will be playing violin, banjo, mandolin, and a string synthesizer at the concert, and Ziegler’s own, “In All The Days To Come,” which debuted last year.
In addition to Ziegler and Burnett, the concert will feature a who’s- who of local performers, including Bill Basset on pedal steel guitar, Tina Reichow on djembe and cajon drums, Tory Campbell on Congas, Jason Teague and Sally Stricker on bass, and Alissa Keuker singing. The performers will also be joined by Mingus Union High School Choir.
Ziegler said that he expects the last concert will be full of nostalgia and is preparing to end up in tears before it is over. He said he would be happy to see another musician take up the mantle of organizing the concert but is resolute in saying he cannot be involved in whatever future form the concert takes, at least for the next few years.
“I give it up gladly, but not lightly,” Ziegler said. “It’s just been a work of love, and the payoff is amazing.”
The concert will also be raising cash donations for the local Meals on Wheels. Mount Hope intends to match donations dollar for dollar.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
