01 SC Mag 02-24

More documents

Recommendations

Info

trampled by a younger sibling, or its bow is in need of rehairing, Vander Hart is the one to call. He also maintains a supply of stringed instruments available to students for rent or purchase, doing work behind the scenes to provide high-quality instruments at affordable prices. He buys them at a discount from a large company in Alabama, although in the early years he imported instruments from Germany. “I now provide my cello players with instruments from the clearance corner, which means that online, you can see what’s wrong with this little instrument. It’s new but has a crack or it has a fingerboard unglued or peg missing,” Vander Hart said. Along a top shelf in his studio is a line of richly lacquered violins made of maple and spruce. They are available in half, three-quarter and full sizes, ready to grow along with his students. Larger instruments are stored elsewhere. He provides the labor for repairing the instruments he purchases for resale at no cost. “I can get my kids cellos for $1,000 that what the outfit would list for probably $3,200,” Vander Hart said. Along with repairing and restoring instruments, he also builds them from scratch, and in his basement, he keeps larger tools, including the wood bending iron he uses to create the curvature in an instrument’s acoustic chamber. Along with tools, there are shelves for storing the varieties of wood most suited to musical construction, for their physical qualities and their beauty. “It’s always spruce for the soundboard. Spruce is the strongest wood with the lightest weight. That’s why spruce is chosen for the masts of the clipper ships. Big winds blowing those things, they don’t crack off,” Vander Hart said. “The backs and sides are always made of maple. That’s because it’s a good reflective wood. It doesn’t have pores in it, so it’s smooth, and it’s strong.” In his basement there is a large storage area for wood, and along with stacks of unfinished maple, there are beams of heavy walnut, Sitka spruce from Alaska, mahogany from Honduras and Madagascar ebony. Along with building instruments for his own delight and use, to date, Vander Hart has helped well over 100 students build their own classical guitars and more than 300 students build their own mountain dulcimers. The dulcimer is an American folk instrument that originated in the Appalachian Mountains in the 19th century. “The mountain dulcimer is an amazing instrument,” Vander Hart said. “It’s the easiest instrument to learn, and it will last a lifetime. It’s very sturdy — they don’t crack easily.” The dulcimer has just four strings, and he teaches his students a simple method of musical notation called tablature, which uses symbols to represent finger placement rather than pitch. Vander Hart regularly offers mountain dulcimer class during Dordt Discovery Days, a weeklong summer day camp at Dordt that draws students from across the region. The kits students use to build their own dulcimers are prepared by Vander Hart, who spends hours preparing each instrument’s scroll peg head, planing wood, and using pressure and heat to bend the wood used for the instrument’s sides. Teaching students to build and play their own instruments is one way Vander Hart has lived out his sense of Christian calling. “I tell the kids, ‘The violin has a soul. It knows when you’re in tune. If you play in tune, the violin sings. If you play out of tune, it won’t.’ And they believe me,” he said. “And then I say, ‘No, that’s not the reason.’” Then he gets out his charts, and Vander Hart explains the mathematics of overtones and the principles of harmony. “You see such order in music — the mathematics in music is awesome. That’s where we get our major chords from,” he said. “Our love for peaceful sounds — is this a cultural thing? No, it’s a created thing. God’s creation is a mathematical thing.” 28 SC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2024
GET FIT NOW! 712-441-2073 341 North Main Ave. Sioux Center, IA • Cabinets & Countertops • Decking • Doors & Millwork • Roofing • Siding • Steel • Windows “When You Build - See Chase” NEAL CHASE LUMBER CO. Phone (712) 722-3041 1433 N. Main Avenue Sioux Center Sheldon • Orange City • Primghar Alton • Hospers • Remsen by Sara SEAMSTRESS Alterations Hemming Zipper Repair Hooded Towels Blankets Bibs And Much More 947 8th Ave. SE, Sioux Center, IA Phone 712-722-0141 TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM OUR VISION CONSISTENTLY HIGH LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION A POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT A RESPONSIBLE PART OF THE COMMUNITY COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE IN EVERYTHING WE DO Building Projects • Improving Lives • Today and Tomorrow 712.722.3042 | Sioux Cent er, IA | info@schellingconstruction.com SPRING 2024 | SC MAGAZINE 29
Page 1 and 2: SPRING 2024 ■ Lyrical dancers add
Page 3 and 4: ON THE COVER | CONTENTS SIOUX CENTE
Page 5 and 6: SPRING 2024 | SC MAGAZINE 5
Page 7 and 8: | FAITH “But when you see God’s
Page 9 and 10: AT A GLANCE: Church: Central Reform
Page 11 and 12: AT PRIMEBANK, You’re Family. (712
Page 13 and 14: TEXT BY ERIC SANDBULTE | PHOTOS BY
Page 15 and 16: a bike trailer or a jogging strolle
Page 17 and 18: ARE YOU REACHING YOUR GOALS? LET US
Page 19 and 20: a coffee shop with a European vibe
Page 21 and 22: Another unique aspect to the cafe i
Page 23 and 24: BUY HERE BUILD HERE SERVICES WE PRO
Page 25 and 26: TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ALEISA SCHAT org
Page 27: to students at Sioux Center Christi
Page 31 and 32: | CULTURE Dancing Devotion TEXT BY
Page 33 and 34: and share the love of Jesus through
Page 35 and 36: WALSTRA’S PLUMBING • HEATING
Page 37 and 38: Discovering TEXT AND PHOTOS BY RENE
Page 39 and 40: novels. instructor. SHELDON, IOWA O
Page 41 and 42: TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ERIC SANDBULTE O
Page 43 and 44: Hospers, IA FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1976

01 SC Mag 02-24

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?