Hidden Talent

When Peter Trumbore, associate professor of political science, first began playing the Appalachian mountain dulcimer more than two decades ago, music was a hobby he took up “off and on.”

Soon, after routine gatherings with other musician friends, Trumbore realized that their group had serious performing potential. In 2015, they formed Munson’s Mill.

Since then, the five-piece Americana/folk band has been performing in gigs and venues across Oakland County and the surrounding area, including ABeanToGo coffeehouse in downtown Lake Orion and the Celtic Knot bar and restaurant in Lakeville.

“The band, in particular, really grew out of the circle of friends that was getting together just to play music in each other’s living rooms,” Trumbore says. “When the five of us were singing and playing together, we were able to do some interesting things.”

Trumbore, a political science instructor at Oakland University since 2002, has lived in the Lake Orion area for more than a decade. Looking to his own hometown for inspiration, he and his bandmates took their name from a past historical landmark in the region: Munson’s Mill.

In 1825, a pioneer named Samuel Munson built Lake Orion’s first saw mill along Paint Creek. Settlers arrived shortly thereafter, establishing a settlement that would become Orion Township.

Though the mill has long disappeared, its namesake lives on with Trumbore’s band.

“We wanted a name that conveyed a rustic air and reflected our love of folk, old-time and traditional music of all kinds,” Trumbore says. “And given that we're all Lake Orion residents, we wanted something that connected us, and our music, to the history of where we call home.”

The Munson’s Mill band includes Trumbore’s wife, Kim, Rob Sorah, Vikisu Toll and Sara Munro. The group’s usual instrumental arrangement consists of acoustic guitars played by Kim and Sorah, Toll’s autoharp, Munro’s stand-up bass and Trumbore’s dulcimer. Because all group members sing, they can perform four and five-part harmonies.

“We had a nice corps of people who had some experience playing in a band,” Trumbore says. “That made it a little easier for us to transition from doing it really casually to doing it more seriously.”

Trumbore says the group puts together a considerable repertoire of styles under the Americana umbrella, such as bluegrass, classic country and “old-time” blues. But the versatility doesn’t end there. Munson’s Mill covers a wide variety of iconic performers: Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and even U2.

However, Trumbore is quick to point out that the group doesn’t hustle for gigs like “real musicians.”

“We play bars, restaurants…we have some gospel sets for church gigs,” he says. “If we play out in public once a month, that’s pretty good for us.”

With a chuckle, Trumbore notes that Munson’s Mill doesn’t fit the “standard bar band” image. But the versatility of their styles, he says, makes them a “little more interesting.”

In addition to the dulcimer, Trumbore plays the banjo, which he’s picked up more recently. He also sings in his church choir and travels regularly to perform an old-style American vocal genre called Sacred Harp.

Whether he’s performing in public or with friends, music holds an important position in Trumbore’s life.

“I transitioned from being someone who primarily listens to music and appreciates it, to someone who makes music,” he says. “It’s the main thing I do besides this teaching.”