In 1990, the year Elena and Paul got married, Paul wrote a song for Elena entitiled Magic. .Elena was the inspiration for the lyrics. The inspiration for the music style was Manhattan Transfer. Back around 1981 Paul attended their concert at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. For their second encore, they came back onstage without the band and did an a cappella version of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” It was so stunning that the audience sat quietly for many seconds after it was over and allowed it to resonate in the hall.

Paul wrote the four part harmony for the song Magic, but never got around to having it recorded. He had a few attempts over the years, but nothing materialized. In late 2024, Paul asked Rosana Eckert if she had some students at UNT who could record it. She kindly provided some arranging feedback that improved a few sections, then connected Paul with Elijah Thiessen. He organized some fellow students to record the parts. Elijah sent Paul the raw tracks and he mixed it down to the final version. Thirty five years after it was written, here it is just in time for one of Elena’s milestone decade birthdays.

Elena is wise beyond her years, but looks much younger than her age. It’s a bit of Magic - just like the title of the song.