Dave Rhinard performs songs from “My Fair Lady.”

The Eastern Upper Peninsula Fine Arts Council was surprised and grateful for unexpected donations of nearly $1,000 from the audience at a Summer's End concert in DeTour Sunday, September 4. The Council had planned to give half of the donations to the Salvation Army for its Hurricane Katrina relief effort in the South, so $500 of the $931 raised will go to the Salvation Army, and the rest will go to the Fine Arts Council.

"It turned out to be a very successful fundraiser and wonderful concert on a wonderful day," said Paul Heil, who helped organize the concert and donated programs for the event.

Performances by (from left) Mary Lou Hughes, her daughter, Karen Hughes, and Barbara Taylor highlighted a Summer's End Concert at Sacred Heart Church in DeTour Sunday, September 4. The concert featured performances by Karen and Mary Lou Hughes, Barbara Taylor, and Dave Rhinard, as well as an impromptu appearance by Richard Jennings. It was performed at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a 1930s Gothic style church building on Ontario Street.

Miss Hughes, an acclaimed harpist and soprano, recently moved to Pickford, and performs regularly with the Sault Symphony Orchestra in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She has sung leading roles in the Des Moines Metro Opera Theater in Des Moines, Iowa and at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The highlight of her 2005 season so far has been a performance with her mother of the Bach Mass in B Minor, with the Tianjin Symphony in Beijing, China. She has a bachelor's degree in harp performance from DePauw University of Indiana and a master's degree in vocal performance from the University of Nebraska. She also attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Earlier this spring, she performed in the Carl Orff opera, Carmina Burana, with the Sault Symphony Orchestra, and one of those performances was at Les Cheneaux Community Schools in Cedarville. She also sang with the Cedarville High School Band in their spring concert.

She has performed in Europe and Great Britain, as well as Canada and China. She was a regional finalist in the 2003 Metropolitan Opera Competition, and she also teaches voice and harp at Lake Superior State University.

Miss Hughes grew up with music all around her, starting piano lessons at age 5 and harp lessons at 9. She sang in her church choir, high school choir, and performed with the local orchestra. She was most recently seen in the role of "Eliza" in this summer's Les Cheneaux Education Foundation production of "My Fair Lady" in Cedarville.

During the Sunday concert, she was joined by cast mate Dave Rhinard of DeTour, who played "Professor Henry Higgins," in performing songs from the musical. Mr. Rhinard is a seasoned performer who has appeared in many plays over the 15 years he has been involved with the Les Cheneaux Education Foundation. He is also involved with the EUP Fine Arts Council. He has acted in, directed, and produced for both organizations. He and his wife, Susie, moved last year to DeTour from Albion, where Mr. Rhinard taught drama and English in Eaton Rapids. He acted, produced, and directed for the former True Grist Dinner Theater in Homer.

While they performed a medley of "My Fair Lady" songs Sunday, Mr. Rhinard and Miss Hughes invited another member of the cast seated in the audience, Richard Jennings of Cedarville, to reprise his role as "Colonel Pickering" during the song, "The Rain in Spain."

Miss Hughes' mother, Mary Lou Hughes, is a harpist and seasonal resident of Hessel who also appeared in "My Fair Lady" this summer. Mrs. Hughes was a 30-year music teacher who retired in 2004 from a school in Lansing, Illinois. She lives in Indiana, and has also directed choir. Mrs. Hughes began playing harp at 13, and earned a bachelor's degree in harp studies from DePauw University. She earned a master's degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. She has performed with her daughter three other times in harp duos for concerts in Sault Ste. Marie.

The mother and daughter team performed several classical music pieces, in addition to a medley for two harps of music from the musical, "South Pacific."

Mrs. Hughes and Barbara Taylor of DeTour also accompanied Miss Hughes on her solo performances. Mrs. Taylor has bachelor's and master's degrees in education, and has studied piano Interlochen School for the Arts and Northwestern University. She has accompanied several musical events for the Community Choir, and has participated in many of the Les Cheneaux Education Foundation's summer musicals. She has also served as president of the Education Foundation. She recently finished rehearsing in New York City for an upcoming performance with chorus at Carnegie Hall.

The DeTour-based Fine Arts Council is comprised of residents and artists from around the Eastern Upper Peninsula who strive to "improve local culture, society, and prove there is more to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan than hunting and fishing."

The organization sponsors seasonal plays, winter and summer concerts, and Community Choir. Other programs have included concerts, artist of the month displays at a DeTour bank, art instruction and fellowship classes, "Art Smart" educational programs for children in local schools, and fine and performing art scholarships for local students. Four students received scholarships this year, including Leena LaPointe, Anne Goetz, and Chris Fussman for fine art, and Danielle Leazier for theater and voice.

The Council has also donated to thousands to art and music programs, local bands and instruments for band students, a youth writing contest, and the DeTour Recreation Committee.

Council members dedicated Sunday's concert to Jean Bloom of DeTour, who has been in and out of the hospital throughout the summer, owing to health problems. She has conducted the Community Choir, which performs seasonal and holiday concerts in DeTour and on Drummond Island.

An outdoor reception followed the program, providing the audience an opportunity to meet the performers and see visual art pieces created by local artists and members of the Fine Arts Council.