Well-Strung hits chord in Corning

CORNING — Well-Strung, a group of four men from New York, took the stage at Corning Opera House in Corning Friday night and wowed the local audience.

Well-Strung, made up of Edmund Bagnell, Chris Marchant, Daniel Shevlin and Trevor Wadleigh, performed music by classical artists as well as modern singers.

Slowly, the group and audience members warmed up to each other, with help from jokes and stories the group members told about their lives and how music became such an important part of them.

The mix of music was refreshing; Well-Strung started out with a classical tune before blending it with vocals of a pop song by singer Kelly Clarkson. The group included classical music by composers such as Beethoven, as well as orchestral arrangements of pop songs like “Grenade” by Bruno Mars and “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus.

The group succeeded in bringing emotions to each note and musical change, such as during their instrumental arrangement of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

The clear tones of the string instruments brought pure emotion to the crowd, and the crowd rewarded them with a standing ovation.

Bagnell, Marchant, Shevlin and Wadleigh all made themselves available after the performance for the public. The performance was a precursor to an appearance Saturday at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City.