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Holiday spirit, musical chops highlighted during Bowen Center concert
Georgia Musicale Group 1
Annette Russo sings a heartwarming rendition of the classic tune “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” during Georgia Musicale Group’s Dec. 6 concert at Dawsonville’s Bowen Center for the Arts. - photo by Julia Hansen

As members of one statewide music group performed for a recent concert in Dawsonville, audience members had the chance to learn about the performers and their songs, all while reveling in holiday cheer.

This story continues below.

Georgia Musicale Group, a statewide nonprofit organization, hosted a concert at the city’s Bowen Center for the Arts the evening of Dec. 6. 

The nonprofit, which was incorporated in 2016, provides members from the beginner to the professional levels with a way to perform music and learn among peers. Over 100 pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists from several U.S. states and nine countries now belong to the musicians’ group. 

Founder Utako Tanigawa explained that she helped start the group after working in technology-related jobs for over three decades and overcoming a serious illness. 

After she recovered, Tanigawa said that she wanted to return to playing piano, which she had taken up as a child. 

“I found some of the people who’ve retired or are close to retiring, they want to go back to music too,” Tanigawa said. “Many of the members played music as a child, but then they pursued a different career path.”


Georgia Musicale Group 2-2
Vocal tenor Fuling Chiang belts out lines of the opera song “Amor ti Vieta” by Umberto Giordano. - photo by Julia Hansen

The nonprofit participants’ passion for music has taken them to performances not only around Georgia, but also to online video concerts with each other during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanigawa added. 

This past Tuesday’s music ranged from hymns and instrumental studies to opera and of course, Christmastime favorites. 

Georgia Musicale member Annette Russo sang a heartwarming rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane wrote for the 1943 film “Meet Me in St. Louis” featuring well-known actress Judy Garland. 

The song first appeared in a scene in which the family is distraught by the father’s plans to move to New York City for a job promotion, leaving behind their beloved home and family in Missouri just before the 1904 World Fair begins,” Russo said. 

In a scene just before Christmas Eve, Garland’s character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her younger sister, Tootie. 

As Russo sang about troubles soon to be “out of sight” and faithful friends who “will be near to us once more,” the serenade served as one more reminder of what and who matters most during the holiday season. 

Georgia Musicale Group 3
Dawsonville pianist Julie Woodall smiles as she plays Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona’s upbeat piece “Malagueña.” - photo by Julia Hansen

This past Tuesday’s music ranged from hymns and instrumental studies to opera and of course, Christmastime favorites. 

Georgia Musicale member Annette Russo sang a heartwarming rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane wrote for the 1943 film “Meet Me in St. Louis” featuring well-known actress Judy Garland. 

"The song first appeared in a scene in which the family is distraught by the father’s plans to move to New York City for a job promotion, leaving behind their beloved home and family in Missouri just before the 1904 World Fair begins,” Russo said. 

In a scene just before Christmas Eve, Garland’s character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her younger sister, Tootie. 

Georgia Musicale Group 4


As Russo sang about troubles soon to be “out of sight” and faithful friends who “will be near to us once more,” the serenade served as one more reminder of what and who matters most during the holiday season.