Women in Edgewood Form Music Group

This summer, Edgewood’s , founding sponsor of the African Rural Schools Foundation, read an article about the ukulele.

Thoughts filled Waun’s head of when she was a child and taught herself how to play the small string instrument at just seven-years-old.

She contacted the writer, Marlene Parrish of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who had received such positive feedback from the article that she decided to form a ukulele group. Waun was onboard. And so were about 20 others in the neighborhood.

The group has met a few times over the summer, teaching each other new songs, relearning old ones and sometimes creating their own original arrangements.

“It’s been real fun getting back into it,” Waun said. “Especially when I got to teach a song, I put a couple of moves in that made it sound Hawaiin.”

While the , where practices are held, may be a far cry from a tropical island, the sweet sounds of paradise can still be heard twice a month during the group’s sessions.

The ensemble has even set up a Google group so people can contact each other about new songs and helpful websites they’ve found. They share Youtube videos of selections they like and want to add to the playlist.

“It’s mainly a time of sharing, songs that you like, songs others can work on,” Waun said. “One of the goals is that we can get good enough to perform.”

So keep an ear out for Edgewood's new ukulele group! 

For more information or to get involved, e-mail mwaun2003@yahoo.com.