For 179 school days each year, Ian Law is a mild-mannered teacher of mathematics in Room 154 at Point Loma High School (PLHS). But on the last day of classes before winter break, the popular math guru transforms himself — to the delight of his students — into a musical magician, bringing part of his enormous personal collection of instruments from diverse cultures to his classroom. Adding to the students’ fascination — Law is able to play every single instrument. Law and his wife, Wanda, are Point Loma residents and have two daughters; Amy is an eighth-grader at Correia Middle School, while Julia is a PLHS junior. Wanda plays viola in the San Diego Symphony and coaches string players at Correia Middle School. Inquisitive teen faces broke into smiles recently as Law played a mixture of flutes, an array of stringed instruments and even strapped on an accordion before hoisting several models of bagpipes from different countries, including Italy, Spain and Sweden. They had unusual names like Bourbonnaise comemuse bagpipes from central France, ocarinas of several sizes, double-reed instruments called piffaros and many more. And how many months or years of intense music lessons did Law undergo to achieve his jaw-dropping ability? “I’ve never had a single music lesson,” Law told his stunned class last month. “My first instrument was a banjo that we found in my grandmother’s attic when I was 10 years old,” Law said. “My grandmother said I could have it since nobody else wanted it. I took it home and taught myself how to play it.” After teaching himself to play the banjo, he began to branch out. “I started playing a fiddle for square dances in college,” Law said. Soon after, Dave Page, a 75-year-old friend, gathered Law and his friends and introduced them to Irish music. “I ended up on flute and penny whistle,” Law said. PLHS Principal Bobbie Samilson and Vice Principal Hans Becker, himself an accomplished musician, dropped in to enjoy not only Law’s performance but join in the inevitable laughter that filled the room when several brave students took turns trying to play unfamiliar instruments. “It’s quite a sensation to play an instrument that fights back,” Law said when two boys stepped forward to give the bagpipes a try. Becker took a turn on the five-row Continental accordian and “was doing quite well until he was called away for lunch supervision,” Law said. A few students from previous years also dropped by for another opportunity to appreciate Law’s talents, while several other teachers peeked in to see the source of the music filling the hallways and normally quiet math classrooms. Law uses photos of his students to decorate his classroom. He has inserted cartoon bubbles next to each face with quotes from them about key math concepts and some of the errors they have learned from. In another area, Law shares several photos of himself in earlier days — with long, flowing hair — when he played in a number of different bands. When does Law find time to practice on and play all his instruments? “I play in our garage,” Law said. “I don’t watch any television.” For Law, the music provides its own reward with relaxation and joy.
