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Musician Q & A

scrimped and saved and tried to manage our money, feed us on a drastically reduced
budget, and do a whole bunch of cooking and cleaning since all of us were here all
the time! Yes, I even made the sourdough starter. I admit that Ira and I did not agree
at first about the girls’ schooling. Since we were all living through a real life upheaval
by a pandemic, my focus was on just making sure the girls were happy and healthy.
But, Ira, the public school educator, was insistent that they do more than just the bare
minimum of school work. I was eventually persuaded.

You started to play music together as a family. How did that come about?
Ira: I had brought home a variety of instruments, including a violin, a viola, a cello, a
ukulele, and an autoharp. I wasn’t sure what I was going to need for school lessons.
Maya already has a violin and has been taking lessons for a couple of years. I don’t
remember what sparked this, but I decided that Zoe should learn ukulele. She picked — est. 1996 —
it up really quickly! And willingly! Our first song was Dayenu, a song for Passover. The
girls played their instruments, and I played guitar with them. Handcarved with knives and chisels
Laura: I had to sing! Oy vey. Singing has not ever been a strength of mine. But, I in our working studio.
couldn’t play my oboe yet, and I had to do something! I think my singing got a lot 63 Court Street
better over the last 6-7 months. The girls no longer complain when they hear me, lol. Plymouth, MA 02360
Laura: We just started adding a song every couple weeks. Ira was pretty amazing,
giving Maya violin lessons, and Zoe ukulele lessons. He’s quite the renaissance man of View our complete gallery online:
music teaching! www.yankeewoodcarvers.com
Ira: I decided we were ready for Eleanor Rigby. The song only has two chords, and it
has a nice string part.
Laura: That was pretty amazing. It sounded pretty rough, but it was recognizable,
and that was cool. Zoe strummed the chords on her ukulele, Maya played the violin
part, Ira played an adaptation of the cello and viola part on viola, and I would either NEW ENGLAND’S
sing the lyrics, or I’d play the melody on my oboe. ONLY SELF SERVE
Maya: It was fun, I like the music. WINE BAR
Zoe: I think it was kind of hard, because it goes really fast, and I get caught up in
other things. It’s hard to focus because everyone’s playing different things.
Maya: That’s the beauty of music, though.

What are your thoughts as teacher/parents facing a new school year?
Laura: In our school district, we had the option of a hybrid plan, or a completely
remote learning program. We thought that since I’m currently unemployed, I could
stay home and help the girls in full remote learning. It has been difficult. 48 WINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Ira: As the new Assistant Principal for Somerset Middle School, my school year is

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