I was going to make a December “Advent /Christmas calendar” and feature one choir portrait per week, but I missed last week. . .oops! Holiday rush. But I am featuring our choir this month, with 2 pics. Below, stay tuned for more!) Speaking of our choir (whom I miss, and you miss, too, as you’ve communicated to me!), Sally Wilkins shares her new cell phone # with all of you. Please delete her number with the Reno prefix. Instead, use 916-837-5126.

At our next ‘choir rehearsal’ on Wed January 6th from 7:00 – 7:50 p.m., we’ll practice 2 songs in your choir binder — “We Can Plant a Forest” and “Forget me Not.” If you want to study, enter these songs in JWPepper.com “choral” and open and sing along! I have some important 2021 news to share, as well. And we will sing our UUSS favorite birthday waltz together!

My spiritual moment is super brief: cherish, remember, and pray in your own ways for all ravaged by Covid, including our dear Joan Osborne; a choir spouse from my former (and future) Auburn church who passed in July, and many others. And remember those in our frighteningly nearby area who suffered from wildfire. Netflix streaming show (60 min) “Fire in Paradise” is powerful and unforgettable.

Irina and Roger remind me that Beethoven’s birthday is this week. Here’s what Irina sent me (note — I always share what you send me, spread out among multiple weekly Monday Music Moments!)

Here is the video of my wonderful student Maddox Realejo ( now in his second year as a piano major at Longy school of music in Cambridge, MA), playing a movement from Beethoven’s 2nd concerto, after winning RI Philharmonic Concerto competition. The orchestra is our own RI Youth Orchestra!

Stay safe and know we are a family even during this time (below, Fall 2014 (SAUCC), fall 2015 when we moved back in)