This evening I gave Bella a little Christmas tree ornament. Bella is our son Theo’s piano teacher (see also July 15 and November 9), and today she held a beautiful sing-along evening for her students and families. About 40 people crowded into her living room and sang along with the young performers as they tackled songs as diverse as Frosty the Snowman, California Dreamin’ and Baba O’Reilly. Theo performed Let it Be almost perfectly, despite his fear that he didn’t know it well enough to play in front of others. All the kids were a little nervous, but Bella’s loving teaching and encouragement and the warm, friendly atmosphere made performing a little less scary for them all.

There are not many teachers who would go to the trouble of organizing such a gathering, coming up with a set list, printing all the songs out so that families could sing with their kids, and inviting a horde of people to invade her home on a Friday night. But Bella has demonstrated on many occasions over the half year that we have known her that she is no ordinary teacher (goplaypiano.com). Bella had decorated her piano with a vase of twigs hung with baubles. Before we left, I hung the little animal ornament on one of the twigs as a little thank you for not only teaching Theo to read music and play notes and chords but to experience the pleasure of playing for others on a cozy December evening and sharing the spirit of the Holidays through music.