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An evening of folk: Paul Stookey performs with the Wilmington Symphony 

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By Contributing Writer

Pam Creech

One thousand children and adults flocked to the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Kenan Auditorium to hear Paul Stookey — of the legendary folk group Peter, Paul and Mary — perform with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and the Wilmington Girls’ Choir on Nov. 22.

The Wilmington Symphony opened the show by performing “Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo,” a Western-themed symphonic suite composed by Aaron Copland. The Girls’ Choir of Wilmington filed on stage in floor-length blue gowns to join the symphony in performing two Robert Frost poems set to music by Randall Thompson. The harpist’s gentle, high-pitched melody represented the falling of snow in “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The second piece, “A Girl’s Garden,” was more upbeat and humorous.

After a brief intermission, Wilmington Symphony conductor Steven Errante took the microphone.

“Like every kid that grew up in the 60s, I sang Peter, Paul and Mary songs,” he said. “We’ve had a great time rehearsing with Noel Paul Stookey.”

Paul Stookey entered the stage holding an acoustic guitar, smiling. “We live in contentious times,” he said. “As we look for that common denominator, it’s all about love.”

Stookey kicked off his performance with “One and Many.” After singing the first verse, he told the audience, “And this is the part where you learn the lyrics and sing along.” The voices of 1,000 fans — many of whom grew up listening to Stookey’s music — filled the auditorium during the chorus.

The Girls’ Choir of Wilmington performed with Stookey and the symphony throughout “All My Trials” and “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

Before starting “Cue the Moon,” Stookey explained he was inspired to write the love ballad while looking at the moon at a friend’s house in Maine. “I wrote the song in 24 hours,” Stookey said.

Next, Stookey performed “The Wedding Song,” which he wrote as a wedding gift to his friend a fellow band member, Peter Yarrow.

While the show featured many of Stookey’s own songs, he also performed a version of “America the Beautiful.” Stookey sang the first verse of the song as it was written, followed by two verses he wrote. On stage, he described his decision to rewrite a classic American patriotic song as “audacious;” however, he believes that altering older songs is an important part of a folk musician’s process.

“You have the license to make change,” he said.

Stookey closed the show with upbeat, folksy hits. The Girls’ Choir and audience members sang along to “In These Times,” “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “This Land is Your Land” and “If I Had a Hammer.”

Stookey bid farewell to his audience with his a capella singing of an Irish blessing, “May the Road Rise to Meet You.”

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