Oaklawn Inn to Bring Classical Music Series to Historic Home
Oaklawn Inn Classical Concert Series begins May 12
words & photos by Sawyer Hoff |
In the age of technological advances and modernity, the Oaklawn Inn – ironically located on Technology Drive in Menomonie – is hosting a musical series with the intent of rewinding the clock to a simpler time.
The Oaklawn Inn Classical Concert Series will be held the second Sunday of each month from September to March. The inaugural concert will be on Mother’s Day, May 12, with performances from Schola Cantorum of Eau Claire, an 11-voice a cappella group that sings music of the medieval, renaissance, and baroque periods. The performances will pick up again in the fall with TrioViva on Sept. 8 and Sarah Ohr Music on Oct. 13.
The performances will take place on the main floor of The Oaklawn Inn, with tea and coffee refreshments provided. Due to the size of the space and the intimate nature of the performances, there are only 35 seats available per performance. Tickets for the events are $25 each and can be purchased on The Oaklawn Inn website.
The historic Oaklawn home was built in 1889 by Andrew Tainter and is now a stunning bed and breakfast, with a spacious living area and parlor on the first floor and four rooms for guests. The home was purchased by Stephanie Perry in December 2021. She spent the following year renovating the home, bringing its ceilings back to their original 11-foot height and upgrading all flooring and walls.
“(The house) is a little bit of an oasis in the center of the tech park and it sort of reminds us of what was and how it transformed into something completely new,” Perry said. “This was a 518-acre horse farm, and when I look at how it looked in 1889, it’s completely different from what it is today. And again, it sort of reminds us that our world is ever-changing. So when people come here, they're going to sort of go back in time.”
Perry explained that the idea for the classical concert series came from her time living in Nashville.
“My husband was a blues musician and we would have house concerts all the time because that’s the thing to do in Nashville,” Perry said. “There’s so many musicians there. It’s really a lot of fun and I just felt like (Oaklawn Inn) is the perfect venue for that. It’s bigger than my house in Nashville and I felt like, because of the height of the ceilings, that classical music would sound so beautiful here.”
Perry then brought the idea of hosting the classical music series at The Oaklawn Inn to Juliana Schmidt, executive director of The Menomonie Singers and the founder of the Menomonie Art Music Society, a classical music organization in Menomonie.
“In big venues, yes you have large orchestras, but chamber music in smaller spaces is something that gives an audience member a connection to the performer, but it also gives the performer a connection to the audience,” Schmidt said. “There’s nothing like it.”
With the intimacy of the performances, both Perry and Schmidt hope that these concerts can be an avenue for the community to gather and enjoy a relaxing time while listening to local classical music.
Learn more about Oaklawn Inn and purchase tickets to the Oaklawn Inn Classical Concert series at oaklawninn.com.
