What’s your favorite carol? A woman recounts how she and her piano are like the little drummer boy.
CAROL ANN SMOLKA
Upper Room
Over the years, “The Little Drummer Boy” has become my absolute favorite Christmas song. I identify with the young man that worries about approaching this king he’s heard about, but doesn’t yet know. “I have no gift that’s fit to give a king,” says the little drummer boy. Or in my case, as a 4-year-old little girl who has just learned how to play piano, because she saw Mr. Rogers do it and became absolutely obsessed.
My first performance was on Christmas Eve in front of 300 people at Churchill United Methodist Church in Youngstown, Ohio. I learned “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” from a beginner piano book. The book was deep blue with an illustration of the animals surrounding the manger, and a bright light shining up from where the baby Jesus lay.
Last Updated on December 18, 2017