A smile that comes from deep within  her soul, flowers in hand, while ceasing the moment of her standing ovation from hundreds of school children, her peers, endlessly cheering and clapping, after her outstanding piano performance with the Phoenix Youth Symphony.

My precious Christina, who has Down syndrome, played Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with the Phoenix Youth Symphony today, a concert that was sponsored by the Arizona Musicfest educational concert-series.

Beethoven composed his ninth Symphony while completely deaf, meaning it was written under extreme obstacles, and today, almost 200 years later, Christina demonstrates again that obstacles can be overcome, by playing Beethoven’s piece on the piano with an orchestra despite her cognitive challenges, showing everyone what is possible in the face of adversity.….now that’s the seed for a Hollywood movie…