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Washington Evening Journal
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Williamsburg women share music during holiday season
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WILLIAMSBURG — Peggy Wardenburg and Karin Malloy have more than 90 years of music experience between them. The woman play piano and organ for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
The friends also share their musical talent with the community. They’ve been entertaining patrons at the Williamsburg Public Library every Christmas season for more than a decade.
Wardenburg has been playing music for more than 40 years. She took piano lessons as a child, she said, and she plays the organ and piano at church, as does Malloy.
“We’ve been doing music in church for a number of years,” said Wardenburg. “That’s how we met.”
Malloy plays for the adult choir, and Wardenburg accompanies the children’s choir.
Wardenburg set up her keyboard beside the library’s piano while waiting for Malloy to arrive for the lunchtime performance Dec. 4. Malloy is employed with Lillis Insurance.
Wardenburg works for Edward Jones, but she had taken the day off.
The duo — and Wardenburg alone — perform music several times a year. “I do a lot of stuff with my keyboard,” said Wardenburg.
“We’ll be at What Cheer Opera House this weekend.”
The women visit the assisted living facility in Hampton where Malloy’s mother lives. They perform there about every other month, Wardenburg said.
The women have performed at the Williamsburg Library each Christmas since it opened, said Wardenburg. The memory — from 12 years ago — showed up in her Facebook feed recently, she said, so she assumes she’s been playing there that long.
The women don’t practice for the library performance. “We’re just kind of winging it,” said Wardenburg. “We’re very unorganized.
“She’s an amazing pianist,” Wardenburg said of Malloy. “I play and sing,” said Wardenburg. She loads rhythm and percussion beats on the keyboard to accompany the piano.
The program the women put together for the library includes songs that each of them perform solo as well as duets they’ve done in church, said Wardenburg.
People come to the library year after year to hear Wardenburg and Malloy perform. The woman know what their favorites are and make sure those songs are on the set list.
On the first Wednesday of their holiday library series, Wardenburg sang “Mary, Did You Know,” for a follower who recently died. She sang “Two Step Round the Christmas tree,” which she learned last year, for one of her annual listeners who requested it.
The women can also be heard on Wardenburg’s YouTube Channel. Some of her performances are from years ago, but others were created during the COVID lockdowns.
Wardenburg said she had friends who made videos, and she joined the trend. She was used to getting out and performing, she said, but during COVID she had to find another way to share her music.
Malloy gives Wardenburg credit for their musical performances. “Peggy was the one who got this started. She’s our gig-setter-upper.”
Malloy grew up in the Latimer area, she said. She took piano lessons as a child. “This is my 50th year of playing organ for my church.”
They used to perform at nursing homes, said Malloy. “Peggy entertains at Highland Ridge [and] we go up to visit my mom in Hampton.”
Holiday performances are special. “Christmas carols are great. It’s fun to do those.”
The women will perform at the library Wednesday, Dec. 11 and Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 11 a.m.
