Rural life in Oso allows brother, sister to grow as musicians

On Saturday, Oso siblings Sarah and Aaron Hall will play the Brahms’ Double Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello with the Skagit Symphony in Mount Vernon.

It’s a difficult piece that is not often played because it requires two brilliant and equally matched soloists, which is an apt description for Sarah, 19, and Aaron, 21.

Home-schooled, employed at home and allowed plenty of time to practice their instruments, the Halls are developing careers as solo and chamber musicians.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in McIntyre Hall on the Skagit Valley College campus.

Even with the big performance looming, the Hall family is busy preparing for the opening of their Fruitful Farm stand near Oso.

The farm stand relies on traffic on Highway 530. For the past month, since the devastating landslide up the road, the Hall family has wondered if they will get any business this season. They sell fresh eggs, honey, nursery plants, hanging baskets, vegetable starts and fresh organic fruits and vegetables.

As Christians, their parents Carla and Tom Hall believe that the family’s needs will be met. Still, it’s a tough time.

Their oldest son, Isaac, 26, who lives with his wife and children at Whitehorse on the Darrington side of the mudslide, was part of the rescue effort to find people trapped in the slide. The Halls, who regularly play benefit concerts, also have helped raise money for the recovery.

Because it has been a sad time, it’s been good to force themselves to prepare to play the Brahms, Sarah said.

Aaron, the cellist, and Sarah, the violinist, began playing their instruments when they were age 6 and 4, respectively.

Their father, now an occupational therapist, played clarinet in the Husky marching band when he was a student at the University of Washington. Their mother, who met their dad at the university while studying to be an architect, did not have a music background.

“But I knew that music is good for the brains of children,” Carla Hall said. “Learning to play a stringed instrument seemed to be the way to go. For me, it wasn’t an activity, but a way to nurture my children.”

In addition, the family limited any distractions. The Halls do not have television and only recently got computers and cellphones.

For about five years, the Hall kids received lessons from their friends, the Overman family, who attend the same church, Atonement Free Lutheran in Arlington.

Then Aaron became a student of Toby Saks, an acclaimed Juilliard-trained cellist who taught for 30 years at the University of Washington, founded the Seattle Chamber Music Society and previously played with the New York Philharmonic. (Saks died in August 2013.)

Meanwhile, Sarah began studying with Ronald Patterson, who teaches violin at the UW, studied with Jascha Heifetz and performed as a soloist and concertmaster with numerous orchestra across the county.

Each Saturday, Carla would load up her kids and their instruments and drive them to Seattle for a long day of lessons and group classes at Academy of Music Northwest.

Wondering why the Hall family would live so far from Seattle, their teachers visited the Halls’ beautiful, idyllic farm across the highway from the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River.

“Ron and Toby understood, then, why we did not want to leave home,” Aaron said.

Aaron runs the farm stand and Sarah has become adept at canning, sourdough bread baking, charcuterie and cheese making. She also teaches violin lessons to siblings from two Arlington families and her students plan to attend the concert Saturday in Mount Vernon.

Much of the siblings’ time is taken with preparing for national and international concerto competitions. Aaron also is in charge of making audition recordings for himself and his sister. The prize for many of these competitions includes the chance to solo with big-city orchestras and regional symphonies.

This January, Sarah performed two movements of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Seattle Symphony in a matinee performance at Seattle City Hall.

The Brahms has required months of individual work and rehearsals together, Aaron said.

“We know each other well,” he said. “We just need to look at each other to know what we’re doing next.”

And sometimes they don’t even have to do that, Sarah said. It doesn’t mean that each rehearsal is perfect, she said.

“Sometimes we’re upstairs practicing and Mom will tap on the heating pipe if she hears something out of tune,” Sarah said with a laugh.

Carla smiled.

“For me, it’s not about pride in my children, but about enjoying the music and watching them mature as adults,” Carla said.

Pair in concert Saturday

Sarah and Aaron Hall will play Brahms’ Double Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello with the Skagit Symphony at 7:30 p.m. April 26 in McIntyre Hall, 5201 E. College Way, Mount Vernon. Conducted by Roupen Shakarian, the program also includes Mozart’s Impresario Overture and Haydn’s Symphony No. 54. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 866-624-6897.

The Fruitful Farm stand’s spring opening is May 9 at 21308 Highway 530 NE, Oso. More information is available at www.fruitfulfarm.net.

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.