Carey native to debut composition at basilica

CAREY — Composer Matthew Armstrong is honoring the memory of his younger brother and a fatal accident that occurred in 1978 in Findlay with the premiere of his new choral-orchestral work titled "Requiem for Mother and Child." The performance begins at 3 p.m. on June 15 at the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey. On April 22, 1978, two Findlay teenagers, Michael D. Armstrong and Troy Lee Best, drowned after their canoe capsized while attempting to shoot across the Riverside Park dam on the Blanchard River. During a rescue attempt, two Findlay firefighters, Roland "Rusty" G. Smith Jr. and William C. VanAtta, also perished and are memorialized on the north side of the river, near the waterfalls. Former college professor and composer Matthew Armstrong, Michael's older brother, is honoring his brother with a 30-minute composition that recalls the tragedy and the emotional journey that followed. "I tear up now just thinking about it again," Armstrong said. "It's like it was yesterday." When the incident occurred, Armstrong was a sophomore at Heidelberg University in Tiffin. After observing a music education choral contest at Central Junior High in Findlay, he decided to stop by his family home before returning for a performance later that evening. "I had just celebrated my 20th birthday, so I wanted to just stop for a minute and see my folks," Armstrong said. "My mother was in her bedroom, she had the flu. I walked back there to say hi to her and as I entered the hallway she called out my brother Mike's name. I said, 'No, Mom, it's Matt.' She was really, really upset and said, 'Matt, something is terribly wrong. Mike and some of his friends went canoeing today and I told him to be home this afternoon and he's not here.'" Having to get back to prepare for his performance, Armstrong left. Shortly after returning, he received a phone call from his father — Mike had drowned. Michael and Best had rented a canoe from a local rental service and had attempted to shoot across the dam. Due to the blizzard of 1978, the river was at a high level and at a fast current. "That was the first nice spring day.," Armstrong said. "The sun was shining, temperatures were warm, and the snow was melting rapidly, but the river level was really, really high. You could see the churning of the water, sort of at the base of the river, but the dam was almost invisible." The canoe quickly capsized and the two boys were under the water and into the current. Accounts in The Courier state that when the river is swollen to that degree, the water flowing over the dam hits the river bottom, then churns back toward the dam. Anyone caught in the "boil" keeps getting swept back toward the dam and then pushed to the river bottom. Emergency responders arrived quickly at the scene. After three firefighters launched a boat just below the dam, their boat capsized as well after attempting to pull Best from the water. One firefighter, James B. Waaland, survived after grabbing hold of a rope and being pulled to shore. The accident greatly impacted the Armstrong family, especially Matthew's mother, Dorothy. "He was definitely the apple of my mother's eye," Armstrong said. "My mother never got over it. She grieved for nearly 40 years." Dorothy passed in 2015. During her final days, hospice nurses told Matthew that all she talked about was Michael. This led Matthew to realize how his tribute to his brother should go. "She told me what a privilege it had been to be my mother and how proud she was of me," Armstrong said. "Then she said, 'Matt, I don't want you to be sad. I'm finally going to be with Mike. That's all I've wanted for all of these years.' With that, I came back to this piece and I thought, 'I think I have the ending, it needs to end with a mother being reunited with her child.'" The final movement of "Requiem for Mother and Child" concludes with a duet between a female soprano and a boy soprano. Armstrong said the two represent the symbolic reunion of mother and child in the afterlife. The ensemble features a 25-piece orchestra and a chorus of singers from across the country, consisting of former students and colleagues from Armstrong's time teaching in Iowa and Ohio. The performance will take place at the National Shrine of Carey. Armstrong selected the place of worship for its architecturally striking atmosphere, personal connection and acoustics. Originally from Carey, Armstrong and his family had deep ties to the area and community. "It's amazing that there's a cathedral like this in a little small town like Carey," Armstrong said. "I've had the privilege in my life of performing and conducting in Europe and seeing a lot of the great cathedrals in England and Germany. This church rivals any of those churches I've ever been to." Armstrong hopes audiences can walk away from the performance feeling not just moved, but more connected to one another. "I think the only way you can really survive something like this is to see the lessons in it and to try to take something positive from it," Armstrong said. "I think what I want people to take away is that at the end of the day, we're in this life together. If we can reach out to someone in need, listen and be compassionate, then wouldn't the world be a better place?" Admission to the premiere is free and open to the public. A free will offering will be taken.