A shiny black piano beckons from within a glass-enclosed corner of the Sforzacosta Preschool. For students approaching the entrance to the small building with sloping timber eaves, the grand piano signals what awaits beyond the threshold: an even grander wall of kid-size instruments arrayed on shelves in an expansive atrium that doubles as an impromptu performance space. The separation anxiety often experienced by young children at the beginning of the school day stands no chance against this colorful percussion buffet, with its choice of xylophones, tambourines, or maracas.
