When Fiona Rose Jensen was just a little baby, her father wrote her a waltz.
"I think I was in the car driving to or from the hospital when I made the song, just a day or two after she was born," recalls Jonathan Jensen, a bass player with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
That was in August 1992. In the ensuing weeks, the simple melody in three-quarter time would often lull the baby to sleep. "I would dance her in my arms as Jonathan played it on the keyboard," says Lynn Williams Jensen, Fiona Rose's mother, and a former Sun reporter.
Then one day, a friend, Trish MacDonald, held the baby and heard Mr. Jensen play "Fiona's Waltz." As the music played, the TC idea for a holiday film called "A Very Special Present" came to life.
Now, two years later, the film is premiering on television and a video is available for sale through the Baltimore Symphony Associates.
Creators of the charming live-action and animation special, intended for youngsters 3 to 10, hope it will some day become a seasonal tradition, such as "The Nutcracker" and "A Christmas Carol." The work even includes nods to other winter celebrations, such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
For now, the program can be seen at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Christmas Day on WHSW-TV, the Baltimore station that primarily airs the Home Shopping Network. The film is also airing on 10 other stations owned by Silver King Broadcasting.
Ms. MacDonald, an actress, says "A Very Special Present" spliced Mr. Jensen's graceful air to an array of mostly local contributions, including: a story written by Fiona Rose's mother; lush watercolor artwork by a Silver Spring artist; a live-action drama by a Baltimore public schools teacher; choral performances by second graders from a city school; and innovative contributions by a fledgling Baltimore sound recording studio, Acme Specialities/Invisible Sound Studios.
"It just started to evolve," says Ms. MacDonald, the founder of Uffington Productions, the multi-media production company behind "A Very Special Present." She also narrates the story.
When she first heard "Fiona's Waltz," Ms. MacDonald remembers, it seemed to call out for a story. She asked Ms. Jensen, to flesh out a tale.
The story, drawing upon the traditional carol "The Friendly Beasts," in which the animals in Jesus' manger speak, tells of a red-cheeked farm girl named Fiona Rose. She learns about the winter holidays and, indeed, hears the barnyard beasts speak as they invite her to dance with them on Christmas Eve.
"When Fiona Rose was just a little baby, her Mama had waltzed her around the room . . ." begins the story, evoking the namesake infant's earliest days.
The special has the flavor of old-fashioned children's literature, but with some '90s sensitivity. For instance, in the story Fiona's mother is an obstetrician. And when her father tells of the bright star over Bethlehem, he explains the season's other holidays and the ancient pagan rites that celebrated light and hope in the middle of winter.
"It's to make everyone comfortable with it," acknowledges Ms. MacDonald. "People are able to enjoy the spirit without it coming up against their traditions."
Mr. Jensen's waltz, and other original music, plays through the program. Warmly colored drawings by Shelly Schonebaum Ephraim, come to life through minimalist animation by Sheldon Brahms and Nighthawk Productions.
But the story of Fiona takes only about 15 minutes to tell. To have any life on TV, "A Very Special Present" had to fill a half-hour time period. So, wrapping around the story are live-action drama segments about an embittered, Scrooge-like schoolteacher (played by Carol Mason), who is introduced to Fiona's tale by a kindly school custodian (Thom Kuhl). In the miracle of the animals, she rediscovers the miracle of the holidays.
Scripted by Sam Zervitz, a Baltimore writer and special education teacher at the Williams S. Baer School, the playlet was produced at Glenmount Elementary School in Hamilton and features singing by the school's second graders. It was filmed by Richard Chisolm.
And for the sight impaired, Uffington Productions has also produced a book version in Braille, through the cooperation of the Maryland School for the Blind.
For a videotape of "A Very Special Present" (cost $15), call the Baltimore Symphony Associates, (410) 783-8000.