/98040-Mar

98040 M E R C E R

I S L A N D

L I V I N G

HOME WORKS

F RO M K E YB OA R D S TO K E YPA DS Pianos and Island life are still in harmony

MARCH 2011

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

PAGE 2

Your Mercer Island Market at a glance.

The market is blooming...oops… I mean booming!

2011 is off to a fast start and Mercer Island inventory is at a 4-year low while unit sales are at a 4-year high.

Change is in the air and I’m not talking pollen!

An inventory of 106 homes is too low to sustain a balanced market for current sales volume on Mercer Island. If you have put off moving during the uncertain times of the past 4 years perhaps now is the time to make your move.

I am committed to YOUR success and if the time is right for you to move we will make it happen!

POSTIVE RESULTS. P ROVEN EXPERIENCE. CBBAIN, MERCER ISLAND’S #1 OFFICE PEGGY WATKINS, #1 AGENT 2008, 2009 AND 2010

P E G G Y W A T KI N S Coldwell Banker Bain 7808 SE 28th Street, Suite 128 Phone: 206-230-5444 Fax: 206-232-0368 www.peggywatkins.com peggy@peggywatkins.com

PAGE 3

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

98040 M E R C E R

P

I S L A N D

L I V I N G

HOME WORKS ianos are a work of art, a source of joy and an instrument of

INSIDE

learning. Pianos are everywhere on Mercer Island, from a wine store in the Town Center to the battered uprights on wheels at every school, and in every place of worship. Despite the many distractions that fill everyday life, they have a firm foothold in our culture. We take a bit of time to celebrate their role in this issue of 98040.

4 5 7 8 10

Liner notes Keepers of the keys Keys to learning Ebony, ivory and gold Sweet sound of success

On our cover: The Dorsey Piano, photographed by Chad Coleman, sits in the living room of Bill and Maggie Dorsey’s home on Faben Point. It is a mid-century, German-made Ludwig baby grand. The couple designed their home to accommodate a grand piano. Maggie Dorsey used to teach piano on the Island. She is now retired. She and her granddaughter both continue to play the instrument. “It has brought us great joy,” she said.

98040 is a publication of the Mercer Island Reporter 7845 S.E. 30th Street • Mercer Island, WA 98040 Publisher Janet Taylor Editor Mary L. Grady Advertising Sales Theres’a Baumann Production Melanie Morgan Photography Chad Coleman www.mi-reporter.com

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

PAGE 4

469425

Liner notes

“Without a piano I don’t know how to stand, don’t know what to do with my hands.” – Norah Jones

F

or many of us, there was a piano in the living room instead of a television. For some, there still is.

Long after radio, television and the Internet arrived, pianos are still with us. For many, they were a first step in a life filled with music. For others they provided a foundation for other skills.

Even if the piano has faded into the background, pushed aside by other types of e nt e r t a i n m e nt or distraction, the instrument remains an ubiquitous fixture in public gathering places: schools, restaurants, churches and synagogues, and yes, even the shopping mall.

The instrument has adapted along the way with electronic models that include computers, the capability to record and the ability to Skype.

The piano has also survived and flourished not only as an integral part of the home, but as a source of learning.

For parents here on Mercer Island, piano lessons continue to be an important part of

bringing up children, expanding their horizons through tempos and phrasing. Many find it a way to bring music, sharpened learning skills and a bit of discipline into the home.

In this issue we take a look at how the teaching of piano continues on Mercer Island.

We visit with a new type of music merchant who is changing the way that the instruments are being bought and sold. Finally, we check in with a trio of Islander natives who have flourished in the world of high tech and high finance with a bit of help, we’d postulate, brought by keyboard skills and Island ties.

Finally, we touch on the healing gift of music. Those who work with older adults, or even unruly children, know the power of sound to soothe and distract.

We all respond to melody and rhythm. We rise at the sound of the organ at church. We hum to a familiar tune or feel better with a soundtrack on a morning run or a trip to the grocery.

We owe much of it to those 88 keys used so well by so many — from Chopin to Alicia Keys.

This grand piano is available for anyone to play inside the Olde Wine Store at 7858 S.E. 28th Street, across from QFC on Mercer Island.

PAGE 5

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

of the

Keepers Keys

By REBECCA MAR & MARY L. GRADY 98040 Magazine

F

or a half dozen Mercer Island women, teaching piano on Mercer Island is not only a serious profession, it is business and a passion.

All have taught generations of Islander youth from the enthusiastic to the reluctant. Some have had students go on to play professionally, teach their own children or learn to appreciate music more.

Even after many years of teaching, they all love their profession.

The Reporter spoke to a half-dozen Islanders about their experiences as a piano teacher — and a bit about the nuts and bolts of their profession.

Most have as many students as they want, from 50 or so to just six.

The ages of their students range widely. At least one teacher has a student as young as 3. Kristen Salerno has a student who is 80. As a group, they charge an average of $1 a minute. Sessions range from 30 to 45 minutes to an hour long. Most have students on a waiting list.

In all, they have taught hundreds. Islander Lois Jacobson estimates she has worked with perhaps 1,500 students. She began teaching in 1950, when she was in her 20s.

Continued next page

Lois Jacobson, 86, plays one of her two pianos at home on Mercer Island.

Is saqua h

Your Cedar & Lumber Eastside Decking - Hardwood & Cedar Source for Arbors & Trellises Quality Fencing & Siding Cedar Clear & Tight Knot Cedar

5728 E Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE

Visit us at www.cedarexperts.com & Facebook.com/IssaquahLumber

471110

425.392.3631

Show Office & Mon Room H day o 7 am Frid urs a 5 pm y Sat 8:30 urday -3p m 465456

u

Is s a q

er umb

edar & L ah C

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

PAGE 6 From previous page

Connie Wible has taught for 35 years.

Kristen Salerno began teaching when she was just 14. Jeannie Ellis began in France when her husband was there for a Fulbright Scholarship in 1988.

Originally from Japan, Reiko Ito, who came to Mercer Island from New York, has taught here since she arrived 20 years ago. Lydia Chang has taught for 25 years — 20 years at her home studio on the Island.

Q: What is the one thing people may not know about being a piano teacher?

“The perception used to be that teaching was the job you did when you stayed home,” said Wible, who is a member of the board of the Lake Washington chapter of the Music Teachers Association. “Everybody is a very educated teacher and very knowledgeable. I’m not sure many understand how much there is to getting a degree in music. It takes a lot of extra to become a good teacher.”

“I don’t think most realize how much time and energy is spent looking for books and music,” said Salerno. “I love doing it, but I don’t think the students or the parents realize how much extra time is involved besides the 30, 45 or hour lessons.”

“It can be wonderfully fun,” said Ellis.

“You have to love people; if you love people, it’s a fabulous job, it’s a wonderful joy.

The teachers do a lot; there’s a lot of professional activities, a lot of workshops. It [takes] lifelong learning. We’re constantly reading, studying.”

Q: What works best to help students learn to play, and what is the greatest barrier?

“The greatest barrier to learning to play is procrastination,” said Wible. “I want them to want to play. Every time they walk by the piano, I want them to be drawn to it.”

For Salerno, the issue is patience. “We all want to have the end result immediately,” she said. “It does require self-discipline to achieve results.”

“Sometimes the greatest barrier is that everyone is doing so many activities that practice might get short thrift,” observed Ellis. “But I have seen all ages, all abilities, and they all can learn.”

The biggest barrier is simply not practicing enough, Jacobson agreed. “It’s not a skill you can develop once a week. It’s a daily skill. And it depends so much on the family’s support and routine. If it’s not done on a routine basis, it’s practically impossible. I would say that boils down to the essentials. If you really play, you have

Electrical & General Contractors Specializing In: • Interior/Exterior Aesthetic Lighting • Architectural/Landscape Lighting • Hot Tub Electrical Installations • Upgrades & Improvements

ize that they can do things that they never thought they could do is just something wonderful.”

(206) 948-1989 Lydia Chang Q: What are some of your favorite students (206) 295-5030 and memories?

Patricia Noe “I used to have big recitals every year Jeanne Ellis (206) 232-9730 at the Congregational Church,” Jacobson (206) 232-7189 remembered. “One recital and concert by Glynn Olive Susan Hamp the Reinertson girls, a set of twins who are (206) 525-1060 (206) 232-1772 now seniors in college, was a huge success.

Kristen Salerno Sandra Heinke It was their last big program. They each had a piano and performed both duets (206) 232-1394 (206) 236-0603 and solos. It was a knockout, 150 people Reiko Ito Sharon Van Valin attended.”

(206) 230-5725 Wible has one former student who is (206) 236-7394 Lois Jacobson getting a degree in psychology and comConnie Wible (206) 232-8737 bining it with a music degree to be inteMusicalMind grating music in the arts into her practice.

Brittany Kohl She has had students who have gone into Piano Studio (360) 509-7509 the theater. One student traded piano lesKatrina Kope (206) 236-8607 sons for building her Web site: mercerislandmusic.com. to be devoted.”

“It’s really about musical community,” Q: What is the most important thing that Wible said. “I want every child to feel they you hope to instill in your students? are a part of something that’s bigger than “I try to bring them to the point where them.” they can really analyze and understand “They’re all so unique,” Ellis said. “Each what to do on their one has a distinct perown without their sonality, each one has teacher,” said Jacobson. [a set] of things that “I want them to be able they can’t do and then to study on their own they overcome those.

— and make it a lifeI love taking a student time enjoyment.” who says, ‘I can’t read Ito, who teaches music, I’ll never learn through the Academy to read music,’ and of Music Northwest in then six months later Bellevue, said it is more when they sight read holistic. something for the first “We want to make time for me, I remind children very creative. them that once upon a We encourage feeling, time they thought they experience and expericouldn’t and now they ment, with participaare.” tion, and with fun.

“We are spoiled Always, I want them here on Mercer Island, to feel the joy of doing with wonderful music Piano teacher Lois Jacobson has something.” teachers,” she added. taught more than 1,000 students.

There are so many “We urge all parents life skills [that can be to take their children achieved] under the guise of music: setting to avail themselves of any opportunity to goals, completing tasks and appreciating enjoy music.” beauty, said Ellis. “Watching students real-

Local piano teachers

Gary S. Odegard Landscape Construction, Design & Installation

206-605-7037 206-236-0651 www.odegardlandscape.com

Locally Owned and Operated Since 1976

471136

www.illuminatecontracting.com

471543

Call Today for a FREE Estimate 206-497-1961

• Custom Design & Installation • Hardscaping, Pots, Lighting • Lawns, Arbors, Screening, Decks • Pruning & Maintenance • European Courtyard Gardens • Renovations & Consultations

PAGE 7

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

KEYS

to learning

West Mercer Elementary teacher wants kids to learn more than piano

By MARY L. GRADY Editor Let’s face it: Most of us consider a piano teacher to be of a certain type.

A kindly, proper, but strict lady. Less often a man. If so, he is a professorial-type perhaps with a rumpled tweed coat.

Not an elementary school teacher with five young children and a baby blue Elton Johnlike piano.

But then there is Rob Darling, a first grade teacher at West Mercer Elementary School.

Darling, 36, is in his third year of teaching elementary school, the last two at West Mercer Elementary School.

The teacher is a Port Angeles native who hated his piano lessons as a child. His mother stood over him, he said, prodding him along. The oldest of six children, he muddled through until the seventh grade, when he joined the middle school choir, “made up of 40 girls and me,” he said recently in his West Mercer classroom.

The girls were impressed, he remembered, and he became a minor celebrity.

“You can play,” they would say in amazement.

That made the difference, he said.

Obviously, his male classmates saw the success, he noted. Choir suddenly became popular with both sexes the following year.

Darling and his wife, Erin, who live in Maple Valley, have five children, two each from previous marriages and a baby boy, Simon, born late last December. Darling teaches all four older children in between teaching private lessons both before school on the Island and after school at his home on a baby-blue piano upright of an undetermined quality that he painted himself. In all, there is a total of 25 students.

The baby sleeps through the lessons, he said.

Mercer Island, he said, is a place where parents are keen to expose their children to all kinds of experiences, especially those that will add to learning.

Parents here start lessons for their kids when they are very young. Darling has at least one student in kindergarten.

Music plays an important role in learning, he said. In some ways, it is all about math. The notes represent fractions; there is timing, counting and repetition. And a bit of anthropology as well. No doubt our

Here Comes Spring

plan your spring projects now Design Build Landscaping

OUR INDOOR LIVING OU TDO ING Y D N ORS E T 425.392.6123 EX www.issaquahlandscaping.com

469715

• Flagstone • Pavers / Walkway • Landscape Lighting • Patios • Retaining Walls • Water Features • Plants

West Mercer Elementary School teacher and piano teacher, Rob Darling works with his daughter, Tyler-Ann Darling, at home on the piano he refinished and painted. early ancestors communicated with music and singing, he added.

There are other advantages to learning a musical instrument, he said. Playing in front of others gives young students confidence and praise from people other than their parents.

He is amazed that parents who know how to play themselves, do not teach their own children, he said.

He does think that parents sometimes let their children quit too easily when the going gets tough.

The payoff for him has been huge.

It was a music scholarship that got him into college at BYU at the Rexburg, Idaho, campus. But it wasn’t for music, he said.

He wanted to play baseball.

After a year in Rexburg, he went to Brazil for a couple of years, then went back to school in 2003. He later earned a Master in Education in 2009 from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

His advice for learning to play?

It is the commitment to practicing, he said, not the lessons.

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

PAGE 8

Ebony, ivory &

GOLD

Classic Pianos storms into the music market offering pianos for players and investors

L

By MARY L. GRADY Editor

ocated on a block just waiting to be redeveloped on the south side of N.E. 8th Street in downtown Bellevue is a strip mall, home to fairly low-key business such as a tailor, a tiny spa and a pizza place.

Yet at one end is a business whose modest facade belies the multimillion dollar inventory within.

In the former location of Washburn Pianos, a business called Classic Pianos set up shop just three years ago. Inside is a selection of pianos that will blow the uninitiated away.

Business is very good at Classic Pianos in Bellevue. In the vernacular of a retailer,

the market for pianos is “active,” said Fred Riley, the store’s co-manager.

The business sells 50 pianos or more each month with at least 200 to 300 more in inventory, all of it within the building.

Most are very high-end.

Just inside the front door is a room full of digital pianos, priced from $1,500 to $15,000. The electronic pianos are an important part of the business, making up about 40 percent of total sales and 20 percent or more of revenue, Riley said. Many are hybrid pianos that allow the musician to switch back and forth.

Music stores have come to accept that digital pianos have a place, too, Riley noted. Indeed, the main entrance to the store puts you into the digital piano sec-

Fred Riley plays a nine-foot Bösendorfer grand piano trimmed with gold. tion that includes all kinds of upright and grand pianos that do everything from helping you record a CD to a model that allows you to Skype and share a screen that shows the music being played.

Yet acoustic pianos are the mainstay of the business. Grand pianos, used, refurbished or new, start in price from under $10,000 up to $100,000 and well beyond.

Pianos may have gained in status in the eyes of popular music stars such as Alicia Keys and Josh Groban, and Elton John, Riley said.

There is no dismissing the influence of electronics on the sale of pianos over the past several years.

“Everyone was distracted by electronics,” said John Slavick, who also works at the store. “Everyone was watching a screen.”

Now, they say that parents wanting kids to excel in school have turned back to the piano as a way to encourage music and learning. Both point to the research that has found that youth who play a musical instrument improve their math and learning skills and do better in school.

People here, Riley said, are focused on education. They buy as an investment in their kids. He points to a copy of the “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” on his Continued next page

470902

QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP • EXPERIENCE • PERSONAL SERVICE • INNOVATIVE DESIGN • MAXIMUM RESULTS • AMPLE STORAGE

Showroom: 7211 132nd Place SE, Newcastle, WA • Hours: M-F 7:30 am - 4 pm; Sat 10 am - 2 pm • 425.235.8366 • www.acorncabinets.com

PAGE 9

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS From previous page

desk.

The pair gives two examples. A Woodinville woman came in and bought an $80,000 Bösendorfer as a birthday gift for her 10-year-old daughter. The daughter is a prodigy, Riley explained. A family of 10 came from Gig Harbor to buy an $8,000 baby grand for their children.

The company has done exceptionally well despite the economic downturn, when it seems unlikely that many families have a couple extra thouBuying a piano sand dollars Pianos don’t all sound to plunk down the same. on a piano.

Variations in size, The success age, make and style of the business must be taken into perhaps has consideration when less to do with choosing a piano. an implied de• Is it an upright, baby mand for piagrand or grand? nos to a good • Acoustic or digital? business plan • Is it used or brand and the skills new? and chutzpah • What room will it of the handful occupy? of people who For buying tips, run the store. readers can browse The people through the Piano at Classic PiaBuyer’s guide online nos also credit in its entirety at www. their success pianobuyer.com. to marketing and finding buyers wherever they may be, whether it is Las Vegas or Gig Harbor. Using social media and having a huge inventory of everything means they offer all kinds of choices. The company has tuners, technicians and others as contractors who are there to work as needed on an instrument, from tuning a grand electric hybrid to restoring a fine vintage trade-in to the huge job of moving or shipping a 1,000 lb. Steinway grand.

Many buyers trade in pianos. There is a 1920 Steinway grand piano trade-in with ivory keys waiting for refurbishment. One buyer traded in a Bösendorfer piano for

Classic Pianos in Bellevue stocks all kinds of pianos, including several German-made Bösendorfer instruments.

The store is at 10635 N.E. 8th St. in Bellevue. To learn more, go to http:// classicpianosseattle.com.

$10,000 credit. Awaiting shipping nearby is a 9-foot-6-inch Bösendorfer purchased for $93,000 by a man in Las Vegas.

Downstairs is more inventory made up of three or four dozen more grand pianos and stacks of uprights in boxes. And back to one side, roped off from the rest of the impressive instruments, is yet another Bösendorfer. It is a replica of the one custom-made for the emperor of Japan that was destroyed by fire in the palace

in 1879. It was shipped from Japan after it was on tour there. It is priced at $1.5 million.

Both Riley and Slavick came to the business as piano tuners. Slavick holds master technician status with Steinway & Sons.

Riley’s career in pianos began with the guitar. As a teenager, while watching his guitar teacher tune the family piano, Fred became intrigued with learning the art of tuning pianos. He tuned pianos through

er d a ar! e L ed #1n C i

ORIENTAL RUG GALLERY BEST SELECTION, REASONABLE PRICES IN TOWN! RESTORATION & WASHING WE BUY ANTIQUE RUGS HUGE INVENTORY LOW LOW PRICES! WE WON’T BE UNDERSOLD! 10202 MAIN STREET OLD BELLEVUE

www.aandafencing.com

425-646-4149

Lic#FENCI*F915LH

FREE

Eastside

No-Obligation Estimate

South King

Call for an Appointment

253-735-4149 Premium Cedar Framing

NO

Hemlock or Douglas Fir

471868

425- 454 -2114

• Cedar Fencing • Removal & Repairs • Insurance Work • Decks • Docks

471914 471914

• • • • • •

college and, in 1990, earned a piano technician-business degree from Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia.

Both Slavick and Riley worked elsewhere before being hired by the Portland, Ore.-based Classic Pianos to open in Bellevue. They note that hundreds of music stores have gone out of business in the last couple of years. But they have found the market here better than they had hoped.

They want to be a part of the community. With the help of Yamaha Pianos, the business lends new pianos to Seattle Pacific, the UW and Bellevue College. They move them in and set them up. After a year or so, the company resells the pianos at the schools.

“Our goal is to help people families have music in their lives. And we mean it — we grew up with it, we love it,” Riley said.

FREE GATE

With Purchase of a minimum of 150 lineal feet of fencing.

With coupon only.

Not valid with

Street of Dreams 1996-2009

other offers.

Expires 4/30/11

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

PAGE 10

sweet sound of

success

Islanders reconnect over phone deal

By MARY L. GRADY Editor It was a business deal, not Facebook, that brought three Islanders from the Mercer Island High School class of 1985 back together. A deal worth millions.

The story begins with the teaming of Scott Weller and Rick Hennessy to run a technology startup company named Cequint in Seattle. Cequint produces software that allows cell phone users to have caller ID. Now, caller ID is accessible mostly on landline phones, but it has yet to be fully implemented on cellular phones. Weller had previously worked with Blackberry and Hennessey on ring tones.

In 2008, the tiny company was making progress but facing stiff competition.

They needed more funding to go forward.

They were referred to the global communications company, Transaction Network

Services, just outside Washington, D.C. Through a somewhat casual conversation, Weller and Hennessey were surprised to learn that the head of business development at TNS is none other than their old high school classmate, Chris Penny.

The three grew up on Mercer Island.

Chris Penny was the high school baseball team captain, homecoming king, and according to his friends, a man about town.

Weller was a captain of the 1985 state championship Islander basketball team, along with Quin Snyder. Hennessey was an all-state wrestler.

Any qualms they had about the deal were instantly erased.

“It made it very easy,” they said, knowing their old friend was on the other end.

“Comfort and confidence are key when you are in the midst of a long and arduous due diligence process,” said Weller.

“Those old relationships, those high

OLD & ELEGANT DI ST R IBU T ING since 1965

CABINET HARDWARE

2000 Styles of Cabinet Hardware WE REPAIR, REPLICATE, REFINISH Bring a Drawer • Come See Us SINKS

www.oldandelegant.com

DOOR HARDWARE • In Stock Selection • Custom Design • Repair/Parts • Refinishing

Cequint CEO Rick Hennessey and Scott Weller, president, in their newly expanded offices on Western Avenue in Seattle. They are classmates from the MIHS class of 1985. school connections, are still meaningful. features, TNS said.

Over the last couple of months, the tiny There is something to be said for those,” company has hired two dozen or more Penny agreed.

TNS agreed to acquire Seattle-based software engineers, and moved into exCequint for up to $112 million. The deal panded digs in their building near the ferry terminal on the Seattle includes an initial payment waterfront. They are relishof about $50 million, consisting their success and working ing of about $46.7 million in hard to reach their goals. cash and about $3.3 million It all fits into Hennessey’s in stock issued to certain Cemantra of, “building somequint executives. There’s an thing special with a bunch of additional $62.5 million in good people.” cash payout if Cequint meets On a recent dark winter affuture profit targets extending ternoon, the three shared a to May 31, 2014. The deal was conversation with Weller and listed as the 18th largest in Se- Chris Penny Hennessey in Mercer Island attle that closed in 2010 by the and Penny on the speaker phone from Puget Sound Business Journal.

With the infusion of cash, Cequint ap- Reston, Va. The former classmates slipped pears to be at the head of the pack on effortlessly back and forth in time, telling supplying and expanding ID capabilities. stories, remembering friends. With two the second-generation service includes the delivery of a caller’s name and other Continued next page

MIRRORS US Made Magnifying Mirrors

on SALE at 20 to 40% OFF Also 20% OFF on anything else with SINK PURCHASE

EVEN TALL ONES

Choose from 15” to 30” tall High Quality Other Mirror Styles Available In-stock Selection

10203 Main St. Lane, Bellevue (Call for directions) 425-455-4660 | Mon–Sat until 6PM, Thurs until 9PM

471570

140 Sinks

Brokers of Fine Residences, Mansions and Estates Since 1900

PAGE 11

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS From previous page

MIHS yearbooks in hand for reference, there was much teasing about hair and who did what. History was revised on the spot.

The three are sure that their connection is even better because they grew up on Mercer Island.

“There was something about living here,” said Hennessey, whose family moved to Alaska for a year during his high school years. “The environment is different. You are told, ‘If Scott Weller, center, offers encouragement to his you can do it, do it the best teammates during the 4A boys state basketball championship game in 1985. The Islanders won. you can.’”

Despite the emphasis on children; four boys and four girls. Havachievement and academics, Weller said, ing children of their own has made them there was an importance in loyalty and appreciate the place where they grew up friendship here. even more. Penny’s oldest children go to They talked a bit of the girls they ad- a Jesuit High School in the Washington, mired and wished they had known better. D.C. area. “It is a good place, but it doesn’t One such person was Weller’s neighbor have the same sense of community as the and childhood friend, Islander Mindy Island,” he said.

Blakeslee. She and Weller used to walk to They want the best for their children, school together in the second grade. She just like what they had growing up here. remembers each man in detail, ticking “We heard about bad behavior,” said off their accomplishments at school, the Hennessey. “But we did not know any.” sense of knowing each other so well.

The others laughed.

Between the three men there are eight

Rick Hennessey passed on the piano to play the drums. Despite a baby grand piano in the living room at his home, Penny played the sax and was in the jazz band at MIHS. Scott Weller took piano lessons for a few years from Mrs. Van Valin, who lived on Merrimount. He worked hard to avoid practicing.

“I did take piano although I faked it half the time. I would hear my mom get home from work and run over to the piano to do the last few minutes

of my 30-minute daily practice. She’d walk in and go directly to the TV to feel if it was warm. I learned the right blue ice/towel combination to make it hum at room temp and not give me away, until one time she sat in the warm spot I’d left on the couch. I blamed the dog.”

He then switched to guitar, “which met a similar no-practice fate until I celebrated the TNS deal with an impulse Martin guitar purchase while walking to lunch one day in November. I can now play ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ to my 8-year-old daughter.”

FREE

CONSULTATION

425.892.3332 ■ Control your house with your mobile device ■ Multi-room Audio/Video & Home Theater ■ Smart Home Integration ■ iPod Integration of the Home

Serving Mercer Island, the Eastside and throughout the Seattle area

Renovation and Repairs Quality Remodeling Custom Homes

Our homes and projects are designed to be efficient and take advantage of your property’s best features.

“Gerry’s attention to detail and organizational skills made the complex process of building a custom home with a unique floor plan an experience that we would undertake again, but only with Haugen Homes.”

– Stephen Wattenbarger, AIA

“We met and talked about the possibilities for my space, how I used the kitchen in relation to the other living spaces and my style.”

– Rosemary Ovadia

[

]

LICENSED LBAHAH1945PW • BONDED • INSURED

472169

LICENSED | BONDED | INSURED

I know what I felt the very first time when I grabbed the mic while playing “Rock Band” with a bunch of tweens.

I was blissfully transported to my own teen years, singing my favorite Go-Go’s song, pretending to be Belinda Carlise. It was great right up to the point when the 12-year-old playing the guitar asked, “Who are the Go-Go’s?”

Music can strongly evoke memories and feelings, both good and bad.

For many, music can create meaning during times that are turbulent or incredibly happy. Because of how powerful music can be, it is great for therapy.

One successful use is with people who have a diagnosis of dementia.

Even when these folks are unable to remember how to tie their shoes, they can sing familiar songs verse by verse.

This form of communication can help the person feel that they are part of a community and provides active social-

ization. Even if they do not remember that they have spent time singing or playing instruments or dancing to the music, they have participated in meaningful activity. Meaning and connectedness with others is often hard for folks with memory loss.

Research has also shown that people with Alzheimer’s disease can benefit from music therapy to stimulate cognition, decrease anxiety and agitation, promote reminiscence and decrease depression.

Through music therapy, someone with dementia can find their voice again.

Betsy Zuber, geriatric specialist, has been working in the field of aging for 20 years. She provides social services to people over age 55 and their families who live on Mercer Island.

Contact her at (206) 275-7752, betsy. zuber@mercergov.org or MIYFS 2040 84th Avenue S.E., Mercer Island, Wash., 98040. Mercer Island Youth & Family Services is a department of the City of Mercer Island.

Contact us today for a FREE Consultation!

Member

“Making integration, entertainment and control in the home as simple yet as powerful as possible where users cannot live without it”

www.high-techliving.com

By Betsy Zuber For 98040 Magazine

LBA HAUGEN HOMES INC. In the Scandinavian Tradition of Craftsmanship and Excellence lbahaugenhomes@msn.com • 425-603-1492

471901

Music played a role

Music soothes the brain, too

98040 | MARCH 2011 | HOMEWORKS

461423

PAGE 12