Bigfork couple brings joy to neighborhood with nightly concerts

At just before 6 p.m. last Thursday evening, a melodic “ting” of guitar strings wafted through a lakeshore neighborhood in Bigfork as Darinda Huntley and her husband David Venters tuned up their instruments. In the moments to follow, they assembled on their porch and a couple neighbors emerged from adjacent villas to take in the musical offering.

Every night since St. Patrick’s Day, the couple of liturgical musicians has serenaded their fellow residents from 6 to 6:30 p.m. in a delightful homage to Italians in quarantine whose performances have been captured on video and shared to wide acclaim. These snippets of sequestered life show entire courtyards signing the Italian national anthem in unison or feature the soaring vocals of an opera singer or first-chair musician.

Huntley and Venters, who both play at St. John Paul II Catholic Church, were so inspired by this communal exchange of musical talent that they decided to offer up their own gifts. On April 9, both played guitar and sang a selection of songs in honor of the Easter holiday.

“We wanted to use our music to draw people closer to God,” Venters said.

While worship music is their bread and butter, they often venture into other genres. They’ve played songs by Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver and other favorites of the 60s, 70s and 80s. One night they adapted Peter, Paul and Mary’s “ Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” for the coronavirus, singing instead, “Where has all the toilet paper gone?”

They’ve played nightly for weeks now, but do head indoors when the temperature falls too low.

“There’s days it gets pretty cold on the fingers,” Venters noted, although they have braved a few chilly evenings with the help of a space heater.

Sometimes they’re joined by a fellow choir member who resides in the unit below, and performs for an audience that ranges in size. The couple declined to give a specific location so as not to encourage large gatherings that would violate current coronavirus restrictions that prohibit nonessential travel and gatherings of 10 or more.

While they aren’t inviting a large crowd, their performances have allowed them to get close to the few people around them. Usually the couple’s regional tourism publication, “The Attraction Menu,” takes them on the road either acquiring listings or distributing the finished product. But with the pandemic restrictions in place, they’re spending a lot more time at home.

“I feel like it’s brought us closer to our neighbors and I’m grateful for that,” Huntley said.

Neighbor Judy Johnson described their mini concerts as “refreshing and calming” and noted that they even take requests.

“It’s just something to look forward to,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t matter if anybody’s out there to clap or say ‘beautiful’ or not — they’re just there.”

And while Huntley and Venters aren’t performing for accolades, their listeners have found ways to show their appreciation. The musicians have received thank you notes, text messages, a bouquet of daffodils and even a bottle of Fireball as tokens of gratitude. But for the couple, their mission is more about ministering through music than anything else.

“Some days we don’t really feel like it, but we do it anyways because once we get started ... the songs actually minister to us,” Huntley said. “I think music kind of speaks to you in a special way — it touches a different part of your brain. We’re pretty blessed to get to continue what we love to do.”

So how long will the show go on?

As long as the quarantine does, the couple said.

Once they’re free to move about, they plan on hitting the road and getting back to work. But for now, for a precious 30 minutes a day, they’ll be spreading joy through song for whoever might be listening. ¦

Editor Mackenzie Reiss can be reached at editor@bigforkeagle.com or (406) 758-4433.