NATCHEZ &045;&045; Not many students can say &uot;my mom goes to class with me.&uot;

But for Johanna, Rachel and Benjamin Farmer, one class is a family affair.

About three years ago, the school district brought in Mickey Davis, a former personnel manager and principal player for the Mississippi Symphony, to teach string instruments to Natchez-Adams students.

And his first students were the Farmers &045;&045; high school senior Johanna and McLaurin Elementary fifth- and fourth-graders Rachel and Benjamin &045;&045; and, oh yeah, their mom, Sabine.

After starting classes with Davis in McLaurin Elementary’s band hall, Sabine bought herself a cello to learn to play.

Johanna’s violin is her own as well, but Rachel, a violinist, and Ben, a cellist, use the school’s instruments.

Due to space constraints, Davis is currently teaching only the Farmers and a few high school students &045;&045; although Morgantown Elementary is now renovating a room in which he can teach.

Except for Johanna, who takes lessons three times a week, he Farmers meet Davis twice a week for their lessons, with students sitting around the piano where Davis accompanies and instructs them as they play.

But the love of music does not stop with these four. Two other siblings, Jimmy and Leah, are involved in Natchez High’s band, with Jimmy serving a drum major and Leah serving in the flag corps and playing the flute.

And Leah wants to learn the strings too.

Perhaps the family’s shared love of music is not such a surprise, since it became part of Sabine’s life early on, while she was growing up in Berlin.

&uot;My mom always subjected me to classical music,&uot; Sabine said. &uot;I had a violin already. I played a little while I was in Germany.&uot;

And her five children get much of the same, they don’t consider themselves &uot;subjected&uot; &045;&045; they like it, and their mother has not forced them to play &045;&045; although she makes sure they practice daily.

&uot;I love it,&uot; Rachel said. &uot;I started liking it when I watched this movie, ‘Music of the Heart.’&uot;

She had her first violin at age 7 and has been playing ever since, staring lessons with Davis in second grade.

Sabine was the first to give Rachel a violin, and she taught her her first song, &uot;Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.&uot;

Rachel said it is fun to play with her family, and Johanna said it motivates her to think her family could one day perform together.

&uot;It brings us closer together, even though sometimes there are arguments&uot; as there are in any family, Johanna said.

It is the one thing they can all do together in their busy lives, running in different directions the rest of the time. Each member of the family plays for a different reason, but mostly for the love of it.

Johanna said she was &uot;amazed at the sound of the strings.&uot; Rachel likes the challenge. Benjamin saw his mom practicing and decided he wanted in too. Sabine loves it but also uses it as a stress reliever &045;&045; so she practices the most often, the children said.

Davis has taught parents and children together before, but said the Farmers goals are clearly &uot;as a result of the mother.&uot;

&uot;In this case, it works very well. When it comes to class, she is just like another child (another student). I don’t really think of it. As soon as we step out of the class, she’s the mother.&uot;

But Sabine’s hope, as well as Davis’, is to bring in other students to learn the instruments.

Former Superintendent Carl Davis and Natchez High Band Director Larry Buckley had the vision to implement the program, Mickey Davis said.

Mickey Davis said he hopes the program will take off once he gets enough space for more students.

&uot;For me, the potential is just immense,&uot; Davis said. He said district officials, including Superintendent Anthony Morris, support the program.

&uot;Everyone knows what a violin is … but it’s not an expected activity in a lot of areas in public schools.&uot;

Davis said he likes to work with children because they seem &uot;fearless.&uot; Another advantage is that children can grow into it, being shaped muscularly by playing the instrument.

&uot;It is an ancient concept, but still the most expressive instrument aside from the human voice,&uot; Davis said. &uot;It is labor intensive and you have to do everything (right) to make it work. But the earlier you start, the better.&uot;