In what are uncertain times right now, with coronavirus keeping people isolated at home and scary headlines flying, there is good to be had if we look for it.
And two young children in Clintonville on Monday took good into their own hands, holding an impromptu cello concert at the home of a dear 78-year-old neighbor. She was delighted.
Taran Tien, who is all of 9 years old, pulled on his best suit. Sister Calliope, who is 6 and happens to be missing her two front teeth right now, fixed herself up in her party dress.
And off they went across Erie Road in their Clintonville neighborhood, each carrying their cello so that they could play a full concert promptly at noon on their neighbor’s large porch.
You see, Helena Schlam is 78 and, at her children’s insistence, is staying cloistered at home these days when nothing is normal, anxiety is high and everything seems scary.
“An overabundance of caution,” the experts call it, this self-imposed quarantining.
So Rebecca Tien called Schlam to see if she needed groceries. She did not. Still, Tien knew Schlam had a piano in her living room and shared her family’s deep love of classical music. She pressed on for a way to help. She asked her children if they wanted to do something special for Schlam anyway.
They did.
So they played.
For more than a half an hour Monday, Taran and Calliope made it through some of Suzuki Book 1 and a bit of Suzuki Book 2. All sorts of things they played, from a Bach minuet to “Go Tell Aunt Rhody.”
To say Schlam was tickled is an injustice.
“It was so delightful. It was a little cold but I just put on an extra coat,” she said with a laugh. “The kids are really quite talented and it was so much fun.”
Rebecca Tien said Schlam is a lovely neighbor, and it brought her whole family joy to pull this off. Schlam’s porch is large, so everyone could keep a safe distance away.
The children, students at nearby Clinton Elementary School and students of private lessons at Columbus Cello School, are home all day like everyone else now.
Their Monday morning lesson included a research project on classical musician Yo-Yo Ma (whom Taran has always admired and wants to be), some biodiversity studies for science, and then the concert.
Rebecca Tien said her own mother is having surgery this week and, because of this new age of coronavirus, Tien can’t be with her. The concert, then, proved therapeutic in more ways than one.
“Obviously I am proud of my kids for doing something kind and I’m glad for them to have that experience and get out and do something exciting in these strange times,” she said, her voice breaking. “But it also is important because it shows we can still have connections right now. I needed that reminder, too.”
And it turned out it was an international concert, as well. Schlam has grandchilden — ranging in age from 10 to 3 — who live in Israel. The family usually returns for a visit three weeks each spring over Passover. But like everything else right now, that won’t happen this year.
The Tien children and those kids are close. So the concert was planned for noon so that it could be FaceTimed to Israel for the other children. That way, everyone was uplifted.
“I haven’t been out of my house for five days, and I won’t be out anytime soon,” Schlam said. “This was a delightful break for all of us. I love all the kids and I love music. It was such a real gift.”
This story was provided by media partner The Columbus Dispatch.
