Last night, I performed my Christmas program at Old Town Hobby. Mostly, I stuck with the program listed in the previous entry, though I have made arrangements for myself for Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," versions of "The Little Drummer Boy," and "Feliz Navidad," "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy," and I also worked up "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" completely by ear Thursday night, and put it to paper for Friday. By request, I also played Cole Porter's "Too Darn Hot" and an old favorite march, "The American Patrol." Thank you Richard, Judy and Alexander for having me come and play.
Penny and I will be buying all of our holiday gifts from Old Town Hobby this year. For anybody reading this, I highly recommend Old Town Hobby, it's a wonderful shop in downtown Shelton and has a bit of something for everyone on our list. Richard can do special orders, and thoughtfully stocks his shop with unique items you just won't find at the big box stores. He has lots of puzzles, games, model kits, Corgi collectible diecast, D&D books, lots of art supplies, Woodland Scenics miniatures terrain, dice, rockets and even the newest Magic: The Gathering cards. And did I mention the personal service is the best you will find anywhere? It is.
This morning, my daughter (she's 4) was watching Arthur on PBS, and who--but my hero of cello heros--should appear, but the one and only Yo Yo Ma! It was his voice, and certainly his cello playing that I heard, and the credits showed that yes, Yo Yo Ma played himself, and guest starred with a famous saxophonist (sorry, I forgot the sax player's name). The cartoon version of Yo Yo Ma showed him with the ears of a rabbit, which I think is appropriate because he certainly must listen well. He had glasses, and the cartoon face actually looked a fair amount like him. In the story, there was a disagreement about whether classical or jazz music was superior. As he has done before, Yo Yo Ma demonstrated the point that different styles of music are like different kinds of foods: a variety is best. And any type of music can be played on any instrument. I could not agree more, that's exactly what I do! Yo Yo Ma, you are my hero!
I looked back at my daughter and smiled. She slept through the whole thing.
