THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502230146
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
It is just before noon. It's a cool, overcast day. The water on the Pamlico Sound is still. I knock at the door of a one-story home that sits 100 feet from the water in Stumpy Point.
King Goslin answers the knock and invites me into the home she shares with Jo Ann Cooper, two cats and a dog.
Goslin and Cooper's living room is set up for a musical rehearsal or performance. Goslin's guitar sits on the floor. The acoustic upright bass that Cooper plays is lying flat. There is also a piano and several music stands. And it is in this room that the women create ``new age'' music.
``We were living in Hawaii,'' says Goslin, the more talkative of the two. ``It was a wonderful place. Both of us were teaching and composing, but both of us heard a call to do something else, somewhere else.''
``We were drawn to North Carolina,'' Goslin says.
The women looked at a map of North Carolina and decided Goslin would fly out to find a suitable place to live.
``I looked at the coast,'' she says. ``But I didn't like the tourist areas.''
Then Goslin found Stumpy Point, not exactly a new age hotbed.
``It wasn't even on my map,'' says Goslin.
She returned to Hawaii to tell Cooper of her glorious discovery.
Goslin, Cooper, cats and dog arrived in Stumpy Point in August 1992. They didn't know what kind of reception they would receive in the close-knit fishing village. Any apprehension disappeared in the first few days.
``We felt like we were coming home,'' says Goslin.
The women were soon integrated in the community.
``King was leading the choir in church within a week,'' remembers Cooper. Both women worked in the church to create a ``learning environment.'' And both Cooper and Goslin were surprised at the local talent.
``Some of the people were a little raw,'' Goslin says. ``But boy, what conviction.''
Since their arrival two years ago, Cooper and Goslin have performed as a duo, first called Beautif and now as Morningstar.
Most of Morningstar's work is in nightclubs and weddings. It pays the bills. But just as Goslin and Cooper heard the call to move to Stumpy Point, they now hear a call for something else.
``It's spiritual,'' says Goslin. ``We really want to work on Jo Ann's compositions.'' Some of Cooper's compositions are on a work in progress called ``Into the Circle,'' which was recorded in Seattle.
Cooper writes her songs on piano, and they're the kind of songs you might hear on a George Winston album. The music is dreamy, with sparse instrumentation.
The women have written 150 songs, including 30 composed in Stumpy Point. One of their recent songs is ``Life is a Long Dream.''
``It was inspired by Miss Grace Hooper, who's lived here her whole life,'' says Goslin.
Both women say the move to Stumpy Point has been positive, not only musically, but in a spiritual sense.
``We came to this place as strangers,'' says Cooper. ``We've learned so much about acceptance and appreciating differences.''
What's next for Morningstar?
They hope to finish ``Into the Circle.'' And they practice, sometimes five hours a day. Goslin, who plays a dozen instruments, helps Cooper master the standup bass.
Why the bass? ``It feels like it has soul,'' says Cooper.
For Morningstar, it's all about soul. The duo treats me to an impromptu living room concert. It's something they've done twice in the past.
They sing ``Life is a Long Dream.'' Goslin is on guitar and sings from the soul. Cooper is on that upright bass, which was a gift from another Stumpy Point resident.
The sound is just right. ``We play music to transport people to places where they can't go,'' says Goslin.
I tell them I don't want to go anywhere else. I like it here in this musical house.
A new age is dawning on the shores of Pamlico Sound in Stumpy Point. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by
MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
King Goslin, left, and Jo Ann Cooper, perform a 17th century
composition in their living room that also doubles as a rehearsal
hall. But both are into composing new age music. Cooper writes her
songs on piano, and they're the kind of songs you might hear on a
George Winston album. The music is dreamy, with sparse
instrumentation. Together, they have written 150 songs, including 30
composed in Stumpy Point. One of their recent songs is ``Life is a
Long Dream.''
by CNB