Craig Siemsen said he and his wife Patty Stevenson are exact opposites when it comes to their musical training.
But together they perform as a successful duo, singing harmonies, telling stories and jokes and playing acoustic guitar for audiences who love folk music.
They’ll perform Feb. 19 at the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum.
Stevenson studied classical piano, getting up at 4 a.m. to practice for three hours before going to school and then often after school, too. Her great grandmother was in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and her piano teacher also performed with the Chicago Symphony. Stevenson majored in piano performance, music theory and music education in college.
Piano remains her favorite instrument, but over the years, she was drawn to folk music because “it speaks to me. There’s a connection with the audience, and in our shows we tell stories and laugh with the audience,” she said.
Siemsen said his parents raised him on the Weavers, Pete Seeger and the Chad Mitchell Trio.
“Patty has perfect pitch. I pretty much play by ear, which was one of our first challenges we had when we started playing music together,” he said.
He added in his youth he also enjoyed Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix. “But the truth is what I love is the acoustic sound, the ring of the guitars, the art and the poetry of song writing.”
On that they can both agree – each traveled singing and playing folk music, and they met at a music festival.
“When we decided to get married, we decided to write a song together,” Siemsen said. If they could get through that, he said, they’d be OK.
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When they began performing together, people loved it and kept saying, “You’ve got to keep doing this,” Siemsen recalled. “They responded a lot to our harmonies and our interaction instrumentally.”
Getting just the right sound “was a challenge. It took a fair amount of angst and love. But we’ve really found a nice place between our two voices and the sound that we have, and we enjoy the same music.”
They also relish writing songs individually and then arranging them together.
“Patty wrote a song for our daughter called ‘I Will.’ It’s a beautiful song. She also wrote ‘Paint Me a Picture,’ about her friend who was an artist and who passed away. It’s a beautiful tribute to her friend,” Siemsen said. That song is on their latest album, “Paint Me a Picture.”
As for Stevenson, she loves a song Siemsen wrote, “Red Wing Boots,” also on their latest album.
“It’s very cool,” she said. “It captures the essence of farm life. It’s about his grandpa.”
Siemsen’s family is from Kansas, she said.
One song they’ll likely perform in Grayslake is “A Song for Zhanna,” which Stevenson wrote for piano and voice.
“I’m singing about my piano teacher from college, who was a Holocaust survivor. I didn’t know that when I took lessons from her,” she said.
Later Stevenson learned her piano teacher survived the war by playing the piano for the Nazis when she was 14 years old. “I had to write that song,” she said. “I want to keep that memory alive.”
A long time ago, Stevenson wrote “You’re The River,” a loving tribute to her husband.
“I still feel that way about him today, even more so,” she said.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Patty Stevenson and Craig Siemsen
When: 7 p.m., Feb. 19
Where: Lake County Folk Club, Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum, 164 Hawley St.
Tickets: $13-$18
Information: 847-602-8882; www.thelakecountyfolkclub.org