1924 Steinway Grand

At long last, our rebuilt 1924 Steinway & Sons model "M" grand piano arrived, and wow has practicing turned into a more fun and festive activity.  The afternoon it arrived (last Thursday, November 14), Gavin and Jonah watched in awe as the movers brought the instrument into the house and set it up.  But more priceless was watching the older boys an hour later, breathless from the bus stop and driveway, burst in to the house, drop their school backpacks at the door, and rush to the new instrument.  Everyone wants to play the Steinway!  This is quite a turnabout from the boys' previous preference for the privacy of practicing downstairs on the Roland electronic - - where both their fascination with the synthesizer sounds and the opportunity to be away from Mom's listening ears trumped the Kawai.  But no more!  Everything has changed in an instant with this beautiful rebuilt instrument in our house.  No one can seem to get enough.  And the sound.....how to I describe it: clear and precise and FULL and wow, when the lid comes up the volume alone is astounding!!

Here's Jared's description: "There's something incredible about the clarity and feel and range and responsiveness and tone of this piano. Months ago, last summer when we initially started to look around for a grand, we made the drive down to the Richmond home/workshop of Alexander Brusilovsky, a Russian piano restorer extraordinaire recommended by our piano tuner/technician David Weiss. We spent over an hour looking at a beautiful restored 1920 Baldwin in his basement. Although we thought it was lovely, I confided that - unlike how qualified I feel in assessing an acoustic guitar - I'm probably not a good enough pianist to really know how to judge them, or even how to distinguish their sound and playability. (I told Jodi 'The Baldwin sounds great... but so does our Kawai...') We were unsure what to do, and told Alex that we would think it over. But as we were making our way out, I spied the Steinway in his front room, and sat down to play it on a whim... and something happened. In David Weiss's words, the instrument 'spoke to me'. It was like magic, like electricity coursing through me. It was different. I had never felt anything like this, playing a piano, before. And although we spent several weeks afterward deliberating and 'deciding' - analyzing our budget, taking the boys down to Richmond to play it, weighing out the pros and cons - the truth is, the decision was essentially made in those first moments of playing the piano. It was like that scene in the first Harry Potter movie, when Harry gets matched up with his wand. I couldn't even sleep that night, thinking about the piano and how it sounded and felt! So in the end the decision was easy, and a fitting expression of our values - music is a high priority at our house!"

I'm so often moved by what they are playing on piano or their strings, and I can't imagine our lives without the beautiful music these boys make. Others are moved too; Gavin had a belated birthday party last Friday, the day after the Steinway arrived, so when parents were coming to get their kids we pulled a couple of the lingering parents into the music room to hear Gavin play. He played an original piece that no one knew was his composition until he was finished, and there were tears in the eyes of our friends. Tears! Music stirs the soul like nothing else and it fills our home and it fills my soul.

As a practical matter, having the Steinway has changed a few things.  For instance, I can no longer have a conversation on the phone if someone is playing unless I leave the main floor....I've been opting for the garage!  It has also influenced who practices what, and when. In the past, a normal scene in the early evening might find one of the boys on piano in the music room with the French doors closed to muffle some of the sound, and someone else practicing cello in the adjoining room.  (But not violin...violin has always needed it own room, upstairs or downstairs, with the door shut tight!)  This overlapping routine came to a sudden halt as we realized the number of decibels the new piano was putting out. So the eight daily music practices now pose a bit more of a logistical challenge, and take longer to get through.  But the upside is clear: they love their time on the piano more now than ever before, and since the Steinway arrived they have even asked during a few of their practices if they can play a little longer!  (Whereas in the past, the boys were asking me every 5-10 minutes what time it is on the clock, and I tried, not always successfully, to patiently remind them that they have ears to hear the buzzer when the timer goes off...)  Although practicing can be difficult and tedious at times, I am so proud of how they continue to work hard at developing their musical talents and gifts... and it doesn't hurt to have a nice instrument to practice on. 

Here are some descriptive details from Alexander, that I want to record and remember:

- The piano is a 5'9" Hamburg Steinway M, originally built in 1924.  In its rebuilt form it is truly a world class instrument. 

- Alex gave it a "full scale" rebuilding, including a new pinblock (from Delignit, Germany), strings (Roslau, Germany), tuning pins, damper felt (Laurex, France), state-of-the-art composite action including shanks and wippens specifically designed to retrofit vintage Steinways (Wessel, Nickel and Gross, USA) and new hammer head (Abel, Germany).

- The action was meticulously analyzed for optimization of geometry, and as a result, the keys have minimal lead weights in them (no more than 1.5 to 2 lead weights in the base of the keys, remarkably light).  This makes the action very light and fast.  According to Alex, it will "overplay any piano virtuoso on the planet."

- Alex made an entirely new soundboard, crafted in the manner traditional for that period - a compression-type soundboard with ribs from Sitka spruce, sugar pine, and red cedar, with new bridges.

- The plate was refinished and precisely elevated on new acoustic dowels.

- The key frame and original ivory and ebony keys were rebuilt with new felt. 

- The cabinet was refinished in a tradition-for-the-period hand-rubbed ebony laquer.

- Originally the piano had two pedals, but Alex added sostenuto mechanism and a third pedal ("now you can play the French impressionists!"

In other words, it's an amazing instrument, a one of a kind.  I know there will come a time when this piano will get passed on in our family, and all I can hope for is that you boys remember one thing: it's just a piano and you are brothers.  In the meantime, it's thrilling to hear you play and develop your talents on this amazing new instrument in our home.

Youth Orchestra of Central Virginia

A few nights ago, Caleb and Liam played in their Fall orchestra concert.  This is the first time Liam has played in the Evans group (mostly middle schoolers) after playing for two years in Junior Strings (mostly elementary school kids).  Several weeks before the concert they have seating auditions and Liam was placed as the 2nd chair in 2nd violin and Caleb was 3rd chair in cellos. This was great because it meant that they were sitting at the end of their rows and we had a clear view of them from our seats.  It's always amazing to me to watch them perform so flawlessly after only 6-7 rehearsals.  Mr. Brubaker is a fantastic and fun conductor and the kids all have a great time.

The boys get a little embarrassed (especially Caleb) when Jared is walking around on  stage shooting photos of them.....but I told them the kids just think he's the orchestra photographer, which in a sense he is because they love his pictures!  The color is so crisp and clean, I love it.

In January Gavin will start back up with Junior strings, so more concerts to come!

Farewell to a Trusted Friend

This week we said good-bye to a part of our family that has been with us for nearly 7 years.  We bought this beautiful ebony Kawai at a piano dealer in town when we left our old freebie back in Minnesota.  I was sold on the sound of the Kawai pianos when Caleb was taking his first Suzuki lessons at the McPhail School of Music in Saint Paul when he was 5 years old.  Their sound is rich and deep and ours was no exception.  The boys have spent hours on this instrument getting frustrated when their little fingers wouldn't move the way their head was telling them to,  making up tunes about food I made they didn't like, playing all sorts of pop songs from Adele to Van Halen,  mastering pieces for festival and recital performances, but of all their time on the piano my favorite had been to listen as they create their own pieces.  There have been so many times when I hear them working on a song and I go in to watch them play only to find out there is no music in front of them and that the piece is their own creation.  I always laugh out loud in surprise and wonder and grab the video to capture what was happening despite their protest to being filmed.

The piano is moving to Northern Virginia to a family with two small girls who are just starting out on their own musical adventure.  But I suppose I need to explain why on earth we would sell this piano, but coming this week is a rebuilt 1924 Steinway Grand that we bought 6 months ago.  We needed some extra time to save up for this pricey addition and the Russian man who rebuilt it was good enough to keep it in his home with the other 6-8 Steinways he's working on.  It will be a tight squeeze next to the cellos, guitars, violins, and djembe but everyone is excited to finally bring it home.

Halloween 2013

Somehow we managed to get very few photos of the kids this year from Halloween, but for the record 3 of the 4 dressed up and went trick or treating.  Caleb retired this year and opted to stay home to get homework done when plans with his friends fell apart at the last minute.  Jonah's twin friends and their mom joined us (me, Jared, Gavin and Jonah) in our neighborhood and Liam ventured out with his friends and he managed to pack in a whopping 10.9 # of straight sugar and fat!  When Gavin compared his measly 4# to Liam's load, he announced that he  definitely wanted to go to the neighborhood Liam blitzed next year.  I've offered to buy back the candy at a buck a cup, but so far I've had no takers.........

They did all dress up at the ward Trunk or Treat the night before.

Liam as Napoleon Dynamite.  He does a spot-on impression of classic movie lines that never fail to make me laugh.

Jonah: Calvin and Hobbes.  Caleb: last minute Zorro from several year ago.  Liam: Napoleon Dynamite.  Gavin: Aragorn from Lord of the Rings (or maybe Legolas noting the bow made by G'pa Harris in his hands).

Dear Jonah

Tonight we watched some old youtube videos that Dad posted a few years ago.  You were a basically a baby, only one year old in a few of them, and the oldest clip was posted when you were barely five years old.  At one point when we were watching for the third time a Mother's Day video from 2011 that we sent to both Grandma Hill and Grandma Harris, you said you didn't want to watch it again and you went upstairs in tears.  I followed you up because I was so confused as to why watching this old video made you upset... especially since we'd already watched it twice before.  You refused to tell me despite my gentle pleas.  I convinced you to come down so we could watch one more that you hadn't seen yet. You were fine until I mentioned how fun it was to see you at three years old talking about your "cow-cow" blanket, and then your lip started quivering and I knew I had touched that place in your heart that was aching - even though I was still unsure what, exactly, you were feeling.

After that, at bedtime, we snugged and read in my bed but I wanted to make sure you were alright and I also wanted to make sure I knew why you were upset.  When I asked if you wanted to talk about what made you sad, you just started to cry again and then when I asked if you just missed being so little,  you nodded your head with tears streaming down your face.  That was it: you simply missed being that little boy who said and did funny things, who played with toys that have long since been packed away in the attic, whose voice was so different, so small, whose face was cherubically round and whose eyes had not yet decided on a final color.  I was not surprised to learn this, as you are my only child who deeply cherishes what surrounds you in your seven year old world.  You often talk about your possessions with thoughts of the future.  You tell me that I can't send things to the thrift store because you want to have them for your little boys (you don't want daughters right now...that may change).  You talk about the future and how you want to give your children these same experiences that you have had as a child. Nothing, absolutely nothing means more to me than knowing that your life thus far has been filled with so much joy that your heart aches to see the past as you watch your own self growing up.

I love you so very much Jonah and I promise you that there will be more times in your life when you are able to look back and miss what is gone to the world of memories...a sure sign of a life well lived.

Here you are at 4 years old:

General Conference

I love the Fall session of General Conference.  I love that the weather has cooled down a bit, that there is little to no humidity, and that the leaves are changing colors and when I look out any of my windows I watch them falling like rain with the gentlest of winds.  I also love some of the traditions we have around conference that have evolved over time, including hiking in Mint Springs on Sunday morning, coloring mosaics while listening to the speakers (I find it's a great tactic to stay engaged), having Navajo tacos on Saturday night and Stromboli on Sunday.  But the best part of the whole weekend is gathering around the t.v. together to listen to the Prophet and Apostles inspire us to become better people each and every day. Unfortunately, Jared has missed both 2013 sessions because of academic conference commitments, so these are all the photos I texted him over the weekend to help him feel a little closer to home.

Saturday after soccer games were wrapped up we headed in for long overdue haircuts before catching the 4:00 session of conference. Gavin and Liam are hidden behind their two hairdressers in the background.

 Mosiacs

More doodling

Indian Fry Bread for Navajo Tacos with TVP

Caleb left for the evening Priesthood session and the rest of us played a rousing game of Quirkle where for the first time Gavin and I didn't come in 1st and 2nd places.  In fact, Liam set a new family record of getting 6 Quirkles in a row and 8 total over the course of the game!

Resting after the first half mile of uphill climbing in Mint Springs.  Jonah carried the map the entire hike.

Gavin was leading out and decided that he wanted to venture up to this impressive power lines tower or whatever you call that thing.

Jonah figuring out where we were and where we were going.

Gavin, as usual, was the leader of our pack and he kept a pace I had to try to keep up with.  The others were not interested in taking the extra .5 mile section that he and I wanted to explore, so we parted ways.  I love hiking with Gavin....he never complains and like me ends up wanting to push a little further because we just want to see what's around that next bend in the path.  Here is a selfie of the two of us.

I couldn't get a clear shot of all the mosaics with my phone, so this will have to do.

Jared is en route back home and the stromboli is about to be consumed as soon as the boys come down after showering and cleaning up.  I can hear Liam blowdrying his hair....this is a new fascination of his and frankly his hair looks great when he gives it that extra touch! The only other male person in the world who I know blow dries their hair every day is Uncle James, who Liam James is in part named after.......

Camping

This past weekend we got to enjoy a 3 day break from school and being that our normal weeks don't end until Caleb finishes up with cello on Friday night at 7:15, I was beyond excited.  I think Jared and I shared a collective sigh when C. and I arrived home after 7:30 that night.  Jared had the brilliant idea to go camping after church on Sunday!  Perfect!  So after a Saturday full to the brim with soccer and Sunday's normal church services, we came home and I threw in some lasagna to eat before departing while Jared packed us up.  We headed to Loft Mountain where we camped last August, and which sits along the Shenandoah Parkway about 60 minutes or less from our front door.  We drove along the roads looking for the very spot we camped last year only to find it was taken, so we ventured down a few more roads scouting out the different sites until we found F135 and pitched the tents.  We have the huge family tent that can sleep 6 comfortably, but Caleb wanted to bring his own tent he recently purchased, so he put that one up for himself and Gavin.  Ruby was along for the adventure and joined us in the tent on her sleeping rug because dog hair makes me crazy and I didn't want her sleeping next to or with anyone.  

After the tents were pitched we snacked on roasted red pepper hummus I made with Liam before leaving and which was voted by 3 of us to be better than Sticks kebob shop in town. Afterwards it was time for marshmallow roasting.  A few caught on fire and Jonah was frustrated with all of his that kept burning.  Gavin would always offer his up to help out the situation......thanks Gavin.  Caleb was the most patient and mastered the roasting, presenting us with a nicely golden delight that he smooshed between two graham crackers.  There was no chocolate, because I forgot to buy some.

This first picture is the only one snapped at night time and the rest are from the the following morning:

When I finally decided to get out of my cozy new lightweight sleeping bag Jared bought, I kept hearing them call to Ruby over and over, which was starting to get annoying.  So when I came out I discovered that Ruby was gone and no one was looking for her because they said, in a very unconcerned tone, that she would come back at some point!  So I got in the car to go look for her, knowing full well she would not be making her way back because she loves people and she had no identification tags on her collar.  In fact, when I finally figured out that she was with the camp host thanks to another camper out walking her dog, she and her husband told me that in the 45 minutes that they had her they decided that if someone didn't claim her they were planning on keeping her.  The husband even described how he just sat and held her and she snuggled right into him......here I am searching for her leash while the host is taking down our information and gently reminding me that the Park Ranger is not so forgiving of pets not on a leash.  

I'd keep her too if I found her wandering in the woods with no tags!  We all love this girl!

We broke down camp and headed for Chimney Rocks for our 3.5 mile hike.  

Like all self-timed photos this one was painful.  The boys know how to push Jared's buttons when it comes to taking group photos and this one was no exception, but I'm glad we persevered and have it for the record! Caleb is standing on a rock looking tall, but in reality he IS taller than me by almost 2 inches and his shoe size is bigger than Jared's.

This is my favorite picture from the trip.  I love to see them in order of age with Caleb leading the pack and Jonah happy to bring up the rear.  

On top of Chimney Rocks with the Shenandoah Valley in the background.

Stopping for lunch.  Caleb refuses to ever wear his hat so the brim shades his face and asked if he could sunscreen his face and cover his neck!  Jared didn't go for that...so he sun screened both face and neck and wore his hat however he wanted.

This photo was the most painful for all of us on the entire trip.  Jared was losing patience with the boys antics, we were sitting on the edge of a ledge with 30+ foot drop and at one point a huge spider came out of no where and nearly landed on Gavin which of course made us all scream and jump up out of position. And then in the end the best shot, Jonah's eyes are closed! His smile is fantastic though...

Poor Jonah, he's trying so hard to smile through the tears after deliberately messing up yet another shot:) Oh the joys of family photos!

We made it back in time to unpack, eat leftovers, send Caleb and Liam to orchestra and give everyone a well deserved shower before climbing in bed to start the week the next morning.