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"And John asked if I was available to go to Hong Kong with the band. "It was May Day and John called, which was unusual because Mike was usually the one who would call and ask if I was available to record," Sturm says. She stayed in touch with her music pals, and in 1996, she got a call. In 1988, Sturm moved to Chicago, where she still lives with her husband, Pat Fleming. As Sturm remembers it, Wanchic would call occasionally to see if she was interested in recording with Mellencamp when Lisa Germano, then the violin player in the band, wasn't available. Two members of his band, drummer Kenny Aronoff and guitarist Mike Wanchic were fans of Eclectricity, and with Bloomington being a small town, the musicians became friends. That "gypsy music" gave her the opportunity to travel and perform, and it also served as her introduction to Mellencamp in 1986. "I was studying with this legendary teacher, but he knew how important this gypsy music was to me. "Eclectricity was really the turning point," she says. While in Bloomington, she became fascinated by gypsy music, which led to a stint in a trio called Eclectricity that served as a counterpoint to her classical studies. Sturm followed her two older brothers to Indiana University, where she studied with another string master, Josef Gingold. Sometimes, though, life gets in the way of plans. I got to know some of the musicians, and we (the family) just assumed that I would go to college and then audition for a symphony." We didn't get paid, it was a volunteer job.
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"I used to go down to Music Hall on Saturday nights and usher at symphony concerts. "Most kids go to the mall or play sports or something like that," Sturm says. She practiced diligently, becoming "serious by the age of 12." She took private lessons with Sigmund Effron, then the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concertmaster emeritus. Raymond Sturm and his wife, Catherine, moved with their four kids from Newark, Ohio, their only daughter joined the Suzuki violin program in the Forest Hills School District. Perhaps it's because she couldn't imagine the path her career has taken. It almost seems odd that Sturm sounds like a fan instead of a jaded rock star. John and John Fogerty and Joan Jett were going to sing those songs, then at the last minute, guess who came up and wanted to play piano? Billy Joel!" We learned to play 'Glad All Over' and 'Bits and Pieces' by the Dave Clark Five because we were kind of the house band for the finale. "And it was so much fun (that word again). "I was so proud of him," Sturm says of her boss. Mellencamp was honored at this year's ceremony in March, a night that Sturm will never forget. She is relentlessly upbeat, and why not? When the 1977 Anderson High School grad returns Wednesday, she will be part of a Hall of Fame ensemble, not just sharing the stage with one (Fogerty). "That was fun."įun defines Sturm's outlook. "Oh, yes, the John-John tour," Sturm laughs. She's been there before, most recently in 2005 when Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Fogerty opened the show. Sturm, the violin player in John Mellencamp's band for the past 12 years, will take the Riverbend Music Center stage Wednesday night.
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Anderson grad has played violin with Hoosier rocker's band for 12 yearsįor Miriam Sturm, it's been a (fairly) long, (somewhat) strange trip from Anderson Township to.