Five members of The Herndon Family were the honorees at this year’s state convention of the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Aug. 13 in Fairborn.
Lucy Herndon, the matriarch of the family, is a retired music teacher living in Oxford. She was joined on the stage by her daughters Lynn Herndon Denney and her two sons, Nicholas and Ian Denney; and Lynda Herndon.
“We did not want the program to be the perennial, just the classical. We mixed it up so people would not just hear violins for a half-hour,” Lynda Herndon said. “My sister, at Wyoming, puts programs together. She really helped create this.”
Lucy Herndon said it was fortunate the annual convention was held nearby in Fairborn since it moves around the state each year and they did not need to drive far, although they did stay at a hotel the night before their performance. Their program was scheduled for 9 a.m. on Aug. 13.
“We had to play early,” Lynda Herndon said, adding, “We are not early people.”
They did have friends and relatives in the audience which was nice for them, too.
“I was very excited,” Lucy Herndon said. “I always played with my two girls and I had played with my grandsons. This was the first time I got to play with my daughters and grandsons at the same time.”
She said she was honored they were recognized as the “Musical Family of the Year” and was proud to have three generations of her family performing together.
Lynda pointed to 6:30 a.m. practices in the weeks leading up to the performance and the late evening practice the night before to get ready and she shared her mother’s excitement about the family performance.
Their program included eight numbers and a country medley with the songs including Country Dance, Eleanor Rigby, Simple Gifts and Will the Circle be Unbroken.
They mostly played together on every piece, switching instruments between songs. Lynda played violin, viola and bass; Lucy played violin, viola and piano; Lynn played violin, cello and sang; Nicholas played violin, mandolin and tambourine; and Ian played violin, tambourine and sang.
“It was a blend of five personalities, three generations and family dynamics,” she said. “It was an interesting dynamic.”
Lucy Goodell Herndon, matriarch of the family, holds both B.S. and Master in Education degrees from Miami University. She had teacher training at Suzuki International Conferences with Shinichi Suzuki in Hawaii; Munich and Berlin, Germany; Massachusetts and Japan and attended Suzuki Institutes across the United States.
Lucy taught in Long Beach (California), Mount Healthy and more than 30 years at Fairfield North Elementary. She currently teaches violin and viola at her home music studio and is active with OFMC as a teacher and volunteer. She is a member of the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra, Middletown Symphony Orchestra and Old Time Fiddlers.
Lynn Herndon Denney, Lucy’s oldest daughter, is a violinist originally from Fairfield Twp. She has been active with OFMC as a student participant, teacher and parent. She received her B.A. in Music Education at Bowling Green State University and M.M. Education at Miami University.
As a member of the American Suzuki Tour Group and Ohio Honor’s Chorale, her string and vocal abilities have taken her internationally, performing in Europe, Canada, Japan and Taiwan. She performs locally and is a member of the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra. A public string educator for 28 years, she is currently teaching string orchestra fourth to eighth grades in the Wyoming City School District where she resides with her husband, John, and two boys, Nicholas and Ian.
Lynda Herndon, started violin at age 4 with the Suzuki Violin Method, giving her the opportunity to travel to Japan, Taiwan, Germany and across the United States to attend Suzuki Institutes. She also played oboe and percussion while at Fairfield High School.
She received a B.S. in Accountancy with Violin Performance and Arts Management minors at Miami University, while under a full tuition scholarship from the Music School. She received a M.M. degree in Violin Performance from Louisiana State University. She has held executive positions in various orchestras across the country. She lived in New York City for 15 years and was Executive Director of the professional Queens Symphony Orchestra.
She performs locally with the Middletown and Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestras, and recently was appointed to the Executive Board as Finance Manager/Treasurer of the newly created Southwest Ohio Philharmonic. In January 2017, she will join the Board of Directors for the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra.
Nicholas and Ian Denney, Lucy’s grandsons and Lynn’s children, are musicians living in Wyoming, Ohio. Both have performed on the violin as student participants with OFMC. Both have done pre-concert performances with the Dayton Philharmonic, performed for Butler County MRDD, churches, nursing homes and public events.
Nicholas has had the opportunity to perform with Viper Violinist, Mark Wood, while Ian has performed in the Wyoming Fiddling Cowboys and PULSE. As a member of the church bell choir, Ian toured summers across the United States and Europe. Ian is a senior at Wyoming High School while Nicholas is active running his own pet business, Denney Pet Care.
About the Author