Brittany and Yamaha artist Jim Brickman

Brickman himself was blown away by Brittany's gifts. "It was amazing because it's about communicating through music. We made a connection based on that," he says. He was so moved that he later invited Brittany and her parents to a sound check before his concert, where he and Brittany again performed together on a Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano.

But the meeting was even more significant for Brittany. For the first time, Brittany made the connection between music and composer after meeting Brickman. "From Brittany's concept, everybody is a CD," explains Tammy. "When we say, 'this song is by Jim Brickman,' she only knows music." But when Brittany sat down at the piano with Brickman, she understood that it was he who had written this beautiful music. "They sat down and played 'Valentine' together. It was like two pieces of a puzzle being put right together. You could just tell that she got it — that this was indeed the source of the music."

Live news coverage of Brickman's visit brought Brittany's cause back into the spotlight. That's when the final purchase was made: an anonymous donor bought up the remaining "keys" and Brittany got her new piano. The instrument was delivered this past August.

Brittany has touched many lives and Dan Hanfland feels especially blessed. "I've been associated with the music industry most of my life," he says. "Even though we are constantly reminded of the tremendous value of music as a form of communication in the lives of people everywhere, we don't realize just how important it is until we meet that one special person — the person whose whole world is music. Music is Brittany's principal form of communication. Her gift of music gives her an uncanny, deep sense of vision. She's a remarkable young lady!"

Russo Loves His Yamaha

azzman William Russo calls his Yamaha C7 piano his prized possession. "I love the way it looks, its tone quality, its magnificence," he says. "It's a piano I don't deserve." That is perhaps too modest for the 70-year-old Russo, composer and long-time leader of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.

Russo recently completed his latest CD, Kenton A La Russo, dedicated to the former bandleader Stan Kenton, with whom Russo performed in the 50s. The CD features several pieces that Russo wrote for Kenton, plus several other compositions and a bonus track composition Russo recently wrote for the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.

Like Russo, the Ensemble will soon have a Yamaha piano of its own. Though the group had been using a variety of pianos, it will purchase a Yamaha as its permanent instrument. "The Ensemble will have a Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano next year," says Russo enthusiastically. "Since I was so impressed with my Yamaha piano at home, it seemed like a natural choice to select Yamaha for the Ensemble."

Besides composing and leading the orchestra, Russo is also director of Columbia College's contemporary American music program. The acclaimed composer and musician has studied and performed with many of jazz's finest, including John J. Becker, a protégè of Charles Ives, in the 60s. But by the end of that decade, Russo tired of jazz.

"I got bored with jazz," says Russo. "Jazz was getting too standardized, too codified." He moved on to explore rock and roll, but eventually returned to his roots, excited by the idea of starting a jazz repertory orchestra. That orchestra became one of the first to play Duke Ellington's famous composition, the Concert of Sacred Music.

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