Local residents were treated to an evening of melodious acoustic string music and some expert traditional dance steps recently as Magness Library played host to former John Denver guitarist Pete Huttlinger, and Jim and Inge Wood of the Tennessee Fiddle Orchestra.Huttlinger, who resides in Nashville, has appeared at Carnegie Hall, toured with John Denver before his death in 1997, and played guitar for LeAnn Rimes in several acoustic performances. He has released a number of acclaimed instrumental albums and a successful series of guitar instructional DVDs.While Huttlinger, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, is partial to jazz, he excels in many musical styles. This ability to transcend genres fits right in with the Woods, a husband and wife team who formed the Tennessee Fiddle Orchestra to provide an outlet for regional musicians to perform with a large group.All three performers are multi-instrumentalists, providing the audience with a veritable cornucopia of string instruments between them, including guitar, banjo, cello, fiddle, mandolin, upright bass and exotic instruments like the bousouki.Jim is a five-time Tennessee Fiddle Champion and a 28-year veteran of the Nashville music scene, and Inge, a native of Costa Rica, is an accomplished singer who performs in both Spanish and English.The music began with some solo work from Huttlinger, who, as the night went on, played his amazing instrumental arrangements of classic tunes from musical icons like The Beatles and Steely Dan.
Local residents treated to music