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e-News Condoleezza Rice in concert with Mason & Hamlin Plays concert to benefit Make-A-Wish May 26, 2010 Condoleezza Rice at the keyboard of a Mason & Hamlin piano (Photo courtesy of Blake Cooper) These days, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spends a lot of her free time playing the piano. When not teaching classes at Stanford University, Ms. Rice gives an occasional benefit concert.  Not long ago she gave one in Atlanta for the Make-A-Wish Foundations of Alabama and Georgia.  The concert was held at the  Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church in Duluth, Georgia, which recently bought the Mason & Hamlin piano she played.  Born into a musical family, Ms. Rice began piano lessons with her grandmother at a very early age.  Until her sophomore year at college, her career goal was to be a concert pianist.  It was then that she realized that she would never play at a high enough level for the concert stage, and started looking elsewhere for her life's work.  She eventually chose political science and international affairs, and the rest, as they say, is history. Although she gave up the piano for a time, when she eventually embraced it as a hobby she discovered a whole new dimension to her playing and the ability of music making to transport her.  This proved especially beneficial when she found herself at the center of world politics as a key figure in the Bush Administration.  That was when playing Brahms, in particular, gave her some much needed escape.  Today Rice likes to use her music to benefit children's charities, specifically those that deal with music education. “I feel very strongly about getting music instruction and music, band and that sort of thing back into the schools,” Rice said. “If we can’t get it into the schools then we have to find ways to provide those opportunities for kids, so I’m doing benefits these days for programs allowing kids, particularly underprivileged kids, to get a chance to study music.” The photo above was taken by Atlanta's Mason & Hamlin dealer, Blake Cooper (owner of Cooper Music), who sold the Model BB to the church.  Ms. Rice played it in concert with the church choir, and according to Cooper, Ms. Rice---aided by a truly beautiful instrument--- gave an oustanding performance.  For more about the concert read the article.)