Pear Tree and Partridge
Laura Hairgrove Randall and Mary Vanhoozer are Renaissance women who love to make music, engage in rich conversation, and share the gift of beauty in the everyday through a variety of creative outlets. Their shared passion have led them to Pear Tree and Partridge:
More than simply a music duo, their musical and creative collaboration also represent a way of living.
Pear Tree and Partridge is committed to crafting live music with skill, dedication, and creativity with the aim to create excellent music for the joy, enrichment, and good of their local communities. In addition to concerts, Pear Tree and Partridge also shares blogs, poetry, recipes, and pictures on their website, creating a virtual space for artistic reflection and personal rejuvenation.
Pear Tree and Partridge
Laura Hairgrove Randall and Mary Vanhoozer are Renaissance women who love to make music, engage in rich conversation, and share the gift of beauty in the everyday through a variety of creative outlets. Their shared passion have led them to Pear Tree and Partridge:
More than simply a music duo, their musical and creative collaboration also represent a way of living.
Pear Tree and Partridge is committed to crafting live music with skill, dedication, and creativity with the aim to create excellent music for the joy, enrichment, and good of their local communities. In addition to concerts, Pear Tree and Partridge also shares blogs, poetry, recipes, and pictures on their website, creating a virtual space for artistic reflection and personal rejuvenation.
Pear Tree and Partridge
Laura Hairgrove Randall and Mary Vanhoozer are Renaissance women who love to make music, engage in rich conversation, and share the gift of beauty in the everyday through a variety of creative outlets. Their shared passion have led them to Pear Tree and Partridge:
More than simply a music duo, their musical and creative collaboration also represent a way of living.
Pear Tree and Partridge is committed to crafting live music with skill, dedication, and creativity with the aim to create excellent music for the joy, enrichment, and good of their local communities. In addition to concerts, Pear Tree and Partridge also shares blogs, poetry, recipes, and pictures on their website, creating a virtual space for artistic reflection and personal rejuvenation.
Multi-instrumentalist and melodist
Angelus ad Virginem*
Mary Vanhoozer
Known for her joy, creativity and imagination, multi instrumentalist Mary Vanhoozer fuses artistry with passion in her music making. A member of the critically acclaimed Ciaramella Ensemble, Mary performs on hurdy gurdy and renaissance vielle. Her hurdy gurdy debut with the ensemble featured a concert of renaissance dances presented on a chamber music series broadcast in Southern California. Mary has lectured and performed on the hurdy gurdy at various institutions, including University of California Riverside. Her playing is featured on several recordings, including Under the Birchwood Tree (2022) and Whims and Cockleshells (2024), which feature 17th and 18th century dance tunes and popular songs. She can also be heard on the GRAMMY winning original game soundtrack Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris by Stephanie Economou.
Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, she learned to play Scottish fiddle tunes and developed an enduring enthusiasm for folk musics. A versatile performer and melodist, she has produced three albums of original music. The melodies offer a unique blend of musical styles and traditions significant to her: French and English folk, and medieval and renaissance music. Bard and Ceilidh — her one-woman studio recording ensemble — is rooted in historical and folk traditions, creating a sound world into which the child in each of us is invited: to marvel, rest, and enter into creative but serious play.
​​After winning the Lake Forest Concerto Competition in 2002, Mary made her solo piano debut with the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra. She went on to perform with the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra as a finalist in the Wheaton Concerto Competition. A winner of the Musicians Club of Women competition, she has also performed at the Chicago Cultural Center. Her debut solo piano album, featuring the complete keyboard partitas of J. S. Bach and a new commission by composer Josh Rodriguez, was selected as a finalist in the 2022 American Prize.
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A dedicated teacher, Mary helps her students gain a deeper love and understanding of music, develop a vision to share live music with local community, and cultivate an appreciation for the craft of performance. She currently teaches piano at the Wheaton College School of the Arts and serves as adjunct faculty at Elmhurst University. Mary holds degrees in piano performance from Wheaton College Conservatory (B.M.), the Eastman School of Music (M.M.), and the Cleveland Institute of Music (D.M.A).