We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Early)

Our piano teacher hosts a holiday duet recital every December.

I really enjoy hearing our kids practice for it, but I've always found the recitals a bit underwhelming.

They've all been virtual because of COVID (we started with this teacher in Feb 2020),

and hearing the other students perform over Zoom is not a great experience, musically speaking.

Tonight, we finally got to attend a holiday recital in a beautiful church with great acoustics,

as in days of yore (i.e. before the pandemic).

Each of our teacher's students played a Christmas carol duet with a sibling or parent.

Daniel, Anna, and Todd played a lovely Christmas medley together . . .

. . . then Daniel and Daddy played a thrilling arrangement

of Handel's "Fantasy on Joy to the World."

For the final number, Anna and Todd joined three other students

to play a quintet version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Our teacher wrote the arrangement years ago, and every time she hosts a holiday recital (in person)

she invites five different students to play the quintet at the end while the audience sings along.

I loved that our family got to be part of that tradition, 

and I love that people can gather and sing again!