Photo courtesy of Jennifer DeRuyter Kindred Spirits entertains during the Adult Community Center holiday party on Thursday.

MARSHALL — Darwin Dyce, Emily Hoffmann, and Peter Lothringer are “Kindred Spirits” in more ways than one.

They’re a popular music trio in the Marshall area, one that provided entertainment Thursday morning at the Adult Community Center’s annual holiday party. They helped a full house crowd celebrate the Christmas season in style.

Their music included mostly holiday favorites, along with a few lesser known Christmas songs such as one from John Lennon and another from a Charlie Brown Christmas special.

They also chose several non-holiday songs. Two examples were the Broadway classic “Moon River” and Patsy Cline’s “Walking After Midnight.”

Dyce, who lives near Ghent, plays the flute and percussion. Hoffmann, Dyce’s daughter and an early childhood special education teacher, handles the vocals. Lothringer, a music professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, serves as guitarist.

Dyce shared several personal stories that have led to connections with some of the songs. He recalled propping up a ladder alongside his house on Christmas Eve one year and climbing up to ring bells for his children, who thought they were hearing Santa’s sleigh.

He said the song “Silent Night” is one of his favorites and part of his early life since it was an annual candlelight tradition at the Methodist Church in Watertown.

When they performed a two-part medley of “What Child Is This” and “My Favorite Things,” he said “What Child Is This” became a favorite song thanks to a Reader’s Digest album owned by an upstairs boarder.

“I asked my mom if I could go up and listen to that song,” Dyce said. “I liked how it sounded. It’s still one of my favorites.”

When Dyce and Hoffmann talked about the manger scene, Hoffmann offered the idea that things might have turned out better if the three wise men were wise women.

She said they would have asked for directions so that they could arrive on time. She added that they probably would have helped to deliver the baby and then made a casserole. Dyce replied that he’s still partial to the idea of The Three Kings, so they agreed to disagree.

Dyce said Kindred Spirits enjoys performing at events such as Thursday’s holiday party since it involves connecting with audiences in the local area.

“The performing is fun,” he said. “I also like sitting at the center of the trio between Emily and Pete. Our musical styles go well together.”

The morning performance was followed by a holiday dinner, afternoon games and then mid afternoon refreshments and appetizers.

“The holiday party is always one of our biggest events of the year,” said ACC Coordinator Katie Brusven. “People look forward to it. We have it early in December because the end of the month is busy, and because it helps to get everyone in the mood for Christmas.”