House Band Allegro Brings A Baroque Holdiay Repertoire To The Historic Russell Home

The winter version of Allegro’s “Music in Historic Homes” series is coming up next week. This concert features baroque music for the holidays in the Russell home, located across from the Cheney Cowles Museum.

Built in 1900 for Wakefield and Lucy Russell, the 4,000-square-foot home at 2231 W. First is owned by Connie Wilmot. Wakefield was a banker who invested in mining and real estate. He was in his 50s when the house was built and, according to Wilmot, seems to have built it for his comfortable years. He lived in the home until his death in 1938, and Lucy stayed until her death in 1951.

Wilmot, the fourth owner, has taken up the torch of restoration since her purchase of the house 2-1/2 years ago. Although “finished” is perhaps a word best not used in conjunction with old houses, Wilmot says that at the pace she is going, “it looks like another three years to completion.”

Wilmot, who had previously spent some time working on a 1908 bungalow on the South Hill, says, “I was NOT looking to buy another old house. This house bought me.”

While visiting the museum, she saw the open house going on and wandered in. Her thought at the time was, “This is a wonderfully comfortable house. This will be a comfortable house for somebody.”

With no real thought toward buying, she noticed that it wasn’t selling and watched the price go down in the paper. Her fascination increased, but Wilmot wasn’t sure if she could sell the house she was in. Then some neighbors offered to buy her bungalow, and she needed to buy a house.

Wilmot’s father, a builder, came over from Montana to give the place a once-over, and she remembers him coming up from the basement to say, “Make them an offer.”

It is true that they don’t make them like this any more. You can have your “great room” and garage-fronted monstrosities - I’ll take old elegance. The floors are oak, the living room/library (where the music will be) are trimmed in oak and the parlor fireplace is mottled Italian tile framed in columns.

Wilmot has been searching out period light fixtures - some from no longer extant local homes - and all of the details that make the intact rooms resonate with the period. Other rooms have required greater efforts, like the dining room, which suffered a devastating fire in the ‘70s.

When I visited, Wilmot was apologizing for paint fumes, but they signify progress. A window seat that had been walled over was being integrated into white-paneled wainscoting. And all of those textured ceilings need to be smoothed out.

Concert-goers who enjoy the vicarious thrill of seeing older homes which are being loved back to life by restoration addicts have latched onto Allegro’s series. The ticket includes the musical performance, a tour of the home and homemade refreshments.

Music is provided by Beverly Biggs on harpsichord, David Dutton on oboe and mezzo-soprano JoAnne Bouma. They will perform J.S. Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and an aria from his Christmas Oratorio, as well as the Handel Fitzwilliam oboe sonata and some seasonal carols.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CONCERT Allegro’s Holiday Historic Homes Concert has five limited seatings: Monday at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. and Tuesday at 5 and 7 p.m. Tickets, which usually sell quickly, are $12.50, available from Allegro at 455-6865.