Living Treasures of Northfield

Sebastian, Elias and I were among the crowd of more than 100 people who showed up last Thursday evening at the Grand Event Center to celebrate happy news (which it seems we are all so desperate for these days): the occasion of DeWayne and Theo Wee receiving Northfield’s 2015 Living Treasure Award.

The city’s arts and culture commission made public what our family has known for more than a decade — the Wees are talented musicians and wonderful, giving people.

The annual award honors Northfield area residents who make an outstanding and lasting contribution to the city’s identity and quality of life through arts and culture. (For more background, you can read the Northfield News article about last week’s event.)

I first met DeWayne and his wife, Theo, when Louisa was in kindergarten. Louisa decided that she wanted to take piano lessons, and she insisted that we find her a teacher. If any of you readers remember what Louisa was like as a kindergartner, you will recall her persistence. I asked around and got the name of a teacher who lived down the block from us. Unfortunately, she had no openings. But that teacher suggested DeWayne, who also lives in our neighborhood.

DeWayne Wee looks on while a 6-year-old Louisa performs at a piano recital.

I must admit — at the time, as the mom of a kindergartner, a preschooler and a toddler, I was not interested in interviewing a dozen people to find the absolute best teacher for my child. I mainly wanted someone who was patient, kind and lived nearby, so I wouldn’t have to go far to get her to her lessons. It was just out of luck that Louisa ended up with a retired St. Olaf College professor who had studied at St. Olaf, Juilliard, and Indiana University.

Clearly, he was more than qualified to teach my daughter. But more importantly, I discovered that DeWayne is one of the most patient and encouraging teachers on earth. Not only did he teach Louisa through fifth grade, he taught Sebastian for about four years, and he is in his eighth year of giving lessons to Elias.

All three kids have experienced the pleasure of having Theo fill in occasionally for her husband at their lessons. She also is a kind, patient, highly qualified retired St. Olaf music professor, and both she and DeWayne have performed for numerous community organizations and events, have served as church musicians, and have provided accompaniment for students participating in the high school solo/ensemble contests.

The Wees were nominated for the Living Treasure Award by high school band director Mary Williams. At the event last week, Mary read some comments by former and current students who were appreciative of the Wees’ contributions.

Louisa would likely have chimed in if she hadn’t been away at college. Last spring, when she was a high school senior, she performed a French horn solo, the Rondo from “Mozart’s Concerto No. 4 in E flat Major,” for the solo/ensemble contest, and DeWayne played the piano accompaniment. It was a fitting way for her to conclude her K-12 music performance career.

At Louisa’s graduation party, we showed DeWayne the video of young Louisa from an early piano recital performing the piece “Mozart By a Nose” by Kevin Olson, which concludes in an unexpected way: as directed in the music, Louisa played the final note with — you guessed it — her nose. It was a memorable piece, one that fit her personality, and watching DeWayne’s enjoyment of the performance was as much fun as watching Louisa play it.

Our family’s hearty and sincere congratulations go out to DeWayne and Theo for a much-deserved award. Bravo!