Accordion Class Presses On In Virtual World Amid COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order

CHICAGO (CBS) -- For many, the stay-at-home order for the coronavirus pandemic has been a time of consternation, weight gain, and what not.

But some are looking to learn something, or maybe read a new book. Pre-COVID-19, there was a group eager to learn the accordion – and while they aren't in the same room now, the show must go on.

Over Skype, we heard Mary Ann Covone of the Old Town School of Folk Music playing the century-old waltz, "Fascination."

What is fascinating is the steps Covone has gone to keep teaching. She took her Old Town School class virtual.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine doing that," Covone told CBS 2's Brad Edwards.

The students range in age from 14 to 78 – with their one common denominator being the accordion.

"What I teach is what they want to learn," Covone said. "If they want to learn polkas we do polkas."

The students include everyone from an economist to a film producer. Covone, when she's not teaching accordion, is a personal injury attorney.

"I have not left my house in more than two weeks," she said.

And the group has come to mean much more since COVID-19 came knocking at the door.

"It's very much therapy," she said. "It's an escape. It brings us happiness and joy."

And the words "happiness and joy" are words we don't hear enough of lately.

This particular group of students has practiced together since January. They're even in talks now about a virtual concert.