About Umbart
Caren and Paul Umbarger are artists who create original work in the disciplines of music, painting, photography, and literature. On this site, you can book a gig with The Island Duet; sign up for private music lessons for violin, viola, piano, trumpet, electric bass, or guitar; order giclée prints of original paintings and fine art photography; or purchase a copy of the novel Coming To: A Midwestern Tale. The Umbargers live and work in St. Augustine, Florida.
Music Lessons with Caren Umbarger
I am currently the Artistic Director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra in Palm Coast, Florida. I have taught violin and viola since 1983 and have nurtured hundreds of students in my private studio, many of whom have gone on to become music majors.
I use a traditional approach which includes perfection of form, foundation studies, and the development of conscious playing. My students learn how to enjoy the process of becoming fine players so they may realize lifelong improvement on their instrument. In my studio, kindness is paramount.
Testimonials for Music Lessons with Caren Umbarger
"I can't imagine a finer instructor and friend for my daughter and myself. You have carefully guided her through to college and with great success."
"Thank you for being such a great teacher all these years. Even though I used to be a pain when I was younger, I still appreciated everything that you taught me. The lessons not only made me a better player, but a more confident player."
"Leslie would not have been able to reach the level she did with her violin without you. Needless to say, we think the world of you."
"Thank you so much for all the amazing things you have taught me. You’ve been there the whole time for me, from the highest times to my lowest times. I think you should know that you are someone in my life who I will remember and learn from forever."
Schedule for Music Lessons with Caren Umbarger
Palm Coast
Tuesday afternoons
Lessons can be scheduled to begin any time between 3:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.
St. Augustine
Thursdays in my home on Anastasia Island
Email caren@umbart.com or call 904-501-3640 to discuss lesson time options.
Rates for Music Lessons with Caren Umbarger
- $30 for 30 minutes
- $45 for 45 minutes
- $60 for 60 minutes
Flagler Youth Orchestra Palm Coast, Florida
Caren Umbarger Named FYO Artistic Director - May,2010
A Musical Journey in the Key of Kindness by Caren Umbarger - May,2010
FYO is a free after-school strings program serving more than 250 young musicians from third through twelfth grade. Students attend classes twice a week for instruction in fundamentals and ensemble playing, and perform three major concerts each year. Caren's top group, the Harmony Chamber Orchestra, also provides regular outreach performances to the community. FYO's annual spring Chamber Music Camp offers players the valuable experience of performing in a trio or quartet.
Memories of River City: "The Music Man" Then & Now by Caren Umbarger - Feb, 2011
Remembrances of Jonathan May's Past: FYO Tours in Founder's Memory - Apr, 2012
The Island Duet
The Island Duet is an acoustic violin, guitar and vocal duo that performs a diverse selection of styles including: Gypsy, Jazz, Folk, Rock, Beatles, Irish and Swing. Their musical versatility, original arrangements and compositions, and intimate style entertain audience members of all ages. Caren and Paul are experienced and dependable professionals who are easy to work with. Their music will help ensure the success of your event.
- Weddings
- Parties
- Corporate Events
- Festivals
- Restaurants
- Gallery Openings
- Clubs
- Anniversaries
- Luncheons
- Social Gatherings
- Birthdays
- Fundraisers
The Island Duet: Listen
Here are four samples of our most recent work.
The Island Duet: Playlist Summer 2011
Gypsy
Begin the Beguine
Gypsy Waltz
Lover Come Back To Me
Nuages
Plum Crumble
Stompin at Decca (Listen)
Swing 42 (Listen)
Under Paris Skies
Valse a Rosenthal
Jazz
As Time Goes By
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chicago
Days of Wine and Roses
Easy to Love
For Sentimental Reasons
I'll See You In My Dreams
Misty
Mona Lisa
Night and Day
Shadow of Your Smile
Someone To Watch Over Me
Folk / Rock
Ashoken Farewell
(The) Boxer
Heart of Gold
I Believe in You
Our House
Teach Your Children
Vou Vivendo
Wond'ring Aloud
Rock
Big Yellow Taxi
Green River
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Handle Me With Care
I Feel The Earth Move
I'm A Believer
Into The Mystic
Just The Way You Are
Kokomo
My Little Runaway
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Your Mama Don't Dance
Beatles
Across the Universe
All You Need Is Love
Day Tripper
Eight Days A Week
Hello Goodbye
Help!
Here Comes The Sun
Honey Pie
I Don't Want To Spoil the Party
I Feel Fine
I Should Have Known Better
I Want To Hold Your Hand
If I Fell
In My Life
Love Me Do
Norwegian Wood
Octopus' Garden
She Loves You
Something
We Can Work It Out
Yesterday
Swing / Country / Cajun
Annie's Song
Blues for Dixie (Listen)
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Ragtime Annie
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (Listen)
Sunshine On My Shoulders
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Two-Step Mamou
Variety
Blue Hawaii
Chocolat
Galaxy Song
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Love Me Tender
Moon River
Wedding Song (There Is Love)
What A Wonderful World
R&B
Drift Away
Let's Stay Together
My Girl
Stand By Me
Take Me To The River
Waltzes
Anniversary Song
Edelwiess
Gypsy Waltz
Festival Waltz
Midwinter Waltz
Somewhere, My Love
Tennessee Waltz
Westfalia Waltz
Classical
Bach Invention #1
Bach Invention #4
Couperin Duet III
Hornpipe by Handel
Pachelbel's Canon
Rondeau by Moret
Irish Medleys
The Congress Reel
The Gravel Walk
Dennis Murphy's Polka
Carolan's Concerto
The Flowers of Edinburgh
Cooley's Reel
After the Battle of Aughrim
Galway Hornpipe
Chief O'Neill's Favorite
The Boys of the Lough
Haste to the Wedding
Another Jig Will Do
The Connaughtman's Rambles
Londonderry Aire
Coleraine
Maggie Brown's Favorite
Merrily Kiss the Quaker
The Irish Washerwoman
Sheebeg and Sheemore
Banish Misfortune
Laurel's Reel
Dougie MacDonalds
The Bird in the Tree
Southwind
The Bunch of Keys
Star of the County Down
Gilderoy
Farewell to Ireland
The Swallow Tail Jig
The Road to Lisdoonvarnia
Coleraine
The Island Duet: Testimonials
"I saw the Island Duet recently at a private party in Palm Coast. Great group! Everyone enjoyed them, from the youngest to the oldest. That fiddle really livens up a room! Loved that Django's Plum Crumble!"
"Caren and Paul are true professionals who know how to put together unforgettable performances. They are masters of their instruments, and provide a beautiful eclectic mix of music that opens the hearts and minds of their audience."
"We just wanted to tell you how much we appreciated the music for our 50th Anniversary. We have had rave reviews from our friends and they all mention the music... You should feel very proud of the job you did."
"Thank you a million times for your excellent musical contributions to our wedding celebration. We had so many compliments ... and the variety of music you played was just perfect."
"Thank you so much for making our wedding the wedding of our dreams. Our friends and family loved you guys and we could not have imagined it going any better."
The Island Duet: Rates
The Island Duet fee is determined by the venue, location, and duration of the performance. Please email caren@umbart.com or call 904-501-3640 to discuss your upcoming event.
The Island Duet Performance Calendar
Sunday, April 22 (5:30-6:30 p.m.) - St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, St. Augustine - Jazz Vespers
Friday, May 11 (7-9 p.m.) - BeachHouse Beanery, Flagler Beach
Saturday, May 12 (6-8 p.m.) - The Art Studio, St. Augustine Beach
Friday, June 29 (7-9 p.m.) - BeachHouse Beanery, Flagler Beach
The Island Duet: Contact
For more information please email caren@umbart.com or call 904-501-3640; or email paul@umbart.com or call 904-501-3646.
The Island Duet: Weddings
Our standard Wedding Package includes:
- Preliminary consultation with Bride and/or Groom
- Prelude (15-20 minutes before the Ceremony)
- Processional
- Music during the Ceremony
- Recessional
- Postlude (10-15 minutes after the Ceremony)
- One special request (not on our standard playlist; add'l requests available for a fee)
You may also want to consider having us play during your cocktail hour, dinner, or reception.
Fees will vary based on the particulars of your ceremony and the location of your event. Call Caren at 904-501-3640 for a quote today.
Music Lessons with Paul Umbarger
I teach guitar, piano, electric bass, and trumpet for all ages and levels. This includes: counting rhythms, reading music, developing good technique, learning how to practice, improving facility, mastering chords and progressions, protecting the groove, performing specific tunes, soloing, and songwriting. My students learn how to become excellent players.
Lessons are tailored to each student’s unique interests, objectives, abilities, and practice habits.
My approach is to provide guidance, insight, and encouragement - and to light a fire of enthusiasm for making great music. I've been teaching since 2003.
Testimonials for Music Lessons with Paul Umbarger
"Thank you very much for all your knowledge and expertise. And for the wonderful input that has turned my rough songs into something much more."
"Saturday's recording session was a great experience for our son. He was on a high – inspired and tired! Realizing more what it takes. Thank you for your time and energy."
"Thank you for your patience and great teaching skills. We sure enjoy your style, and your music."
"Tim can't wait for Monday to roll around so he can come for his guitar lesson. He is thrilled with the progress he is making..."
Schedule for Music Lessons with Paul Umbarger
St. Augustine
On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, I teach in my home on Anastasia Island.
Palm Coast
On Tuesday afternoons, I travel to the homes of students in Palm Coast. Lessons can be scheduled to begin any time between 3:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.
Call 904-501-3646 or email paul@umbart.com to schedule a lesson.
Rates for Music Lessons with Paul Umbarger
- $25 for a 30 minute lesson
- $35 for a 60 minute lesson
One lesson per week is the best way to guarantee success. It also works to have a lesson every other week.
Caren Umbarger
Caren Umbarger began playing violin at age 5. Today she is Artistic Director of the 250 student Flagler Youth Orchestra in Palm Coast, Florida. Caren studied at Bennington College, Lakewood Community College and Hamline University, where she earned a BA in Music. She raised three children, taught hundreds of violin and viola students in her private studio, and has performed professionally in classical chamber groups. She also taught at The International School of Minnesota and The St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Her mentors include Dr. Jean Montes, Marina Liadova, Alexs Pate, and Dr. Jonathan May.
When Caren met her husband, Paul Umbarger, she gained two step-sons and became an electric violinist in his eight piece show band, Blue Daddies. Caren and Paul formed The Uptown Duet in 2003. They also co-founded Artistic Youth Ensembles of Minnesota (AYEM), which taught young string players and guitarists how to play together and provided them with regular performance opportunities. The Island Duet was born when Caren and Paul moved from Uptown Minneapolis to Anastasia Island in 2010.
Caren is an avid reader and writer and has published her first novel, Coming To: A Midwestern Tale. She enjoys cooking, dancing, canoeing and walking in nature. You can find her most days, at low tide, biking on St. Augustine beach.
Contact Info for Caren Umbarger
Email caren@umbart.com or call 904-501-3640
Paul Umbarger
Paul Umbarger started playing piano, guitar, and trumpet at age 10. After earning a BA in History and Political Science at Duke, he spent eighteen months performing professionally with his brother, Jim, in a guitar/vocal duet called The U-Two.
At 30, Paul studied painting at the Marchutz School in Aix-en-Provence and spent two years in the south of France working from the landscape and doing solo exhibitions. He’s been painting ever since. In the same vein, he ran his own photography business for several years and developed an extensive body of work.
Eight years later, living in Minneapolis with his wife and two sons, Paul formed a band called Blue Daddies that grew to 8 pieces over a 12 year period and played many memorable shows, including a Blues Brothers tribute. He also performed as John in a Beatle band.
In 2003, as Paul started teaching music in his own private studio, he and his wife, Caren, worked up a guitar-violin act now known as The Island Duet. They co-founded a non-profit in 2005, teaching ensemble playing to young string players and staging regular community outreach performances for five years. Paul began arranging and composing for students, chamber groups, guitar ensembles, his band, and the duet. For three years, he also served as Director of Lake Country School Band.
In Florida, Paul especially enjoys body surfing, biking on the beach, gardening, canoeing, tennis, and golf.
Contact Information for Paul Umbarger
Call 904-501-3646 or email paul@umbart.com
COMING TO: A Midwestern Tale
A novel by Caren Umbarger
Winner of the 2011 Florida Book Awards Bronze Medal for General Fiction
Customs and humanism collide with groundbreaking force in Caren Umbarger's finely crafted literary debut. This scintillating exploration of wealth and marriage, power and betrayal, anti-Semitism and self-awareness is as relevant today as it was in the time of its setting.
On the eve of the Great Depression, the actress wife of a Jewish community leader fights against the oppression of a traditional marriage to preserve her own identity. Taking chances she never imagined - with cataclysmic consequences - Lillian Scharf finds herself on an increasingly perilous path. As she faces the most important performance of her life, what she has no way of knowing is how far she is truly willing to go.
Coming To: A Midwestern Tale is available in paperback at Amazon.com and BN.com. You can also order it from your local bookstore. The eBook is available at Kindle and Nook.
Press for COMING TO
Coming To: An Old Fashioned Tale for Hard Times - Press Release (Feb 14, 2012)
Local author wins state book award - St. Augustine Record (Feb 8, 2012)
Best of 2011 - Florida Book Awards (Feb 7, 2012)
Feature Book by Caren Umbarger Coming To: A Midwestern Tale - Women's Book Reviews (Oct 17, 2011)
Novel Set in Mason City on Eve of Depression - Mason City Globe Gazette (Oct 9, 2011)
Reviews of COMING TO
"Wow. All I can say is if you don’t have some down time don’t start this book, because once you embark on your journey with Lillian Scharf you won’t put the 226-page book down until you’re finished. There’s no question here why Caren Umbarger was awarded the bronze medal for general fiction in the 2011 Florida Book Awards." (Read entire review)
- Anne Heymen, St. Augustine Record "... a fascinating and captivating story about an agonizing struggle towards personal fulfillment." (Read entire review)
- Dr. Karen Pirnot, Readers Favorite
"To go against the will of the man is something common today, but a serious taboo just under a hundred years ago. Coming To is a novel set in the twilight of an America before the Great Depression of 1929... a driven tale..."
- John Taylor, Midwest Book Reviews
"... compelling enough to keep me reading from start to finish in one sitting..."
About the Author of COMING TO
Caren Umbarger was born in Mason City, Iowa on the last, cold day of 1953. She began playing the violin at age 5 and, as a child, was an active Girl Scout, an avid horseback rider, and a voracious reader of fiction. When she was nine, Caren wrote a letter to her favorite author, Marguerite Henry, which initiated a pen-pal correspondence that lasted many years. The author's kindness and intimate sharing (they both loved horses) was the first clue for Caren that authors were real and actually did exist!
She attended Bennington College in the early 70's and later, as a single mother of two young children, earned an A.A. from Lakewood Community College (White Bear Lake, MN) and a B.A., music major (violin performance) from Hamline University in St. Paul.
At Bennington College, Caren took a literature class with author Lore Segal that required a paper on Dickens' BLEAK HOUSE. When she informed Ms. Segal that she couldn't possibly read that huge book and write a paper on it, Ms. Segal's response was: "I'm sorry, then, I'll have no choice but to fail you." When Caren finally turned in her paper, as evidence that she had, indeed, read the book, the teacher leapt out of her chair, clasped Caren in a bear hug and joyfully congratulated her for overcoming her reticence to produce the required work. Ms. Segal taught a great deal more than just literature.
Caren transferred to Hamline University as a junior English major, but switched to music because music was her livelihood; she taught more than 30 students per week in her private string studio and was a professional violinist in Minneapolis. While at Hamline, author Carol Bly's office provided a much needed sanctuary for precious down time as Caren de-stressed on her professor's comfortable couch. Another kind author, another real person behind those printed pages.
Caren had always harbored a secret desire to write a novel, so imagine her surprise and delight when she discovered that one of her adult violin students was a famous author who taught creative writing at the college level! Four months after he started lessons, Caren finally got up the nerve to tell him that she was a writer. When he asked her what she had written lately, she had to admit that it had been nearly twenty years since she had really done any creative writing, but had always dreamed of writing a novel. He coached her on some writing prompts, encouraged her zealously, and after some months went by, Caren found herself writing Lillian's story (COMING TO), and being mentored by the teacher of her dreams.
During the five years of the writing of the book, Caren and her husband, Paul, moved from Minneapolis (where she had lived for 28 years) to St. Augustine. Later, on a road trip from Maryland to Florida, Paul read aloud all the chapters from her laptop and she was astounded to realize that the book was nearly finished! With a couple more weeks of work, Caren was able to print out her first manuscript. Numerous friends read it and offered critiques and support; and her step-son, Charley, even created a beautiful, handmade edition of COMING TO.
After Caren sent the first chapter to several agents and publishers, it became apparent that she could spend years trying to get the attention of someone in the publishing business long enough for them to give the book a read. So, she chose to self-publish and print-on-demand, which allowed her to publish the book with complete creative control and minimal up-front costs.
"The process of self-publishing was very much like giving birth: you know going into it that it's going to be intense; while you're in the middle of it, you can't remember why you thought you wanted to do it in the first place; and now that it's finished, all the hard work was worth it."
COMING TO is Caren Umbarger's first novel. She is currently doing research for her second book.
Events Featuring COMING TO
Book Discussion - The journey of self discovery - Anastasia Library, St. Augustine Beach - 01/21/12
Florida Book Awards Luncheon & Award Presentation - Governor's Mansion, Tallahassee - 03/21/12
Book Signing - 1st Friday Art Walk, Anastasia Books - 81C King Street, St. Augustine - 04/06/12, 5-9 p.m.
FL Book Awards Book Signing, President's Reception Florida Library Association 2012 Annual Conference - Wyndham Orlando Resort - 04/19/12, 5:30-7 p.m.
Florida Book Awards Banquet - Wyndham Orlando Resort - 04/19/12, 7:15-9 p.m.
Florida Heritage Book Festival - World Golf Village, St. Augustine - Sep 13-15, 2012
Paintings
Coming Soon