The Musical Therapy Troupe has been brightening the lives of the elderly in nursing homes throughout Waco since 1979.  And this year it was the Junior League’s turn to brighten the lives of the incredible women of Musical Therapy with a wonderful new keyboard.

Accompanist & 20-year veteran of the group, Lydia Bratcher states, “As the one who gets to use [the keyboard], I feel the most fortunate – especially when I think of some of the ‘pianos’ in the places we go.”

One of those pianos was a small electric keyboard that sounded like a circus calliope.  Lydia said the group got so tickled they couldn’t even sing.  Another facility had a keyboard that would suddenly stop in the middle of a song, because the battery cover was missing & the battery kept popping out.

This incredible group has continued to sing even after its members became sustainers.  Of the 19 current members, they have served 205 total years.  And of those years, 82 are as actives & 123 are as sustainers.  This year’s chairman, Laura Indergard, feels that this group represents the true spirit of voluntarism with their dedication, heart and commitment to their craft.

Even through the experience of an elderly woman shouting from the back of the room, “You all stop singing now – when’s lunch?”, Ann Harder says the reason she has kept singing for the past 17 years is because of “the smiles on the faces of residents and the wonderful fellowship we have with each other”.

Melissa Boss’s summation of the love we all share for this group also expresses its purpose. “Let’s face it…as a society we do not value or nurture the elderly.  These people are at the ends of their lives and they are desperate for friendship and any kind of contact with other human beings.  This committee does a good job of providing not just entertainment, but genuine love and caring for the nursing home patients that we visit each and every week.”  The new keyboard will help us broaden that love & caring by allowing us to sing in places where a piano is in disrepair or in places that don’t have an instrument at all. 

Thank you, Junior League of Waco, for helping Musical Therapy fulfill our mission of improving the community for the past 28 years.