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Brett is at home in front of the piano as a volunteer

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Sunny South News

Ida Brett has been entertaining seniors and church-goers for over 30 years in Coaldale and surrounding area.

On Nov. 6, Brett visited the chapel at the Coaldale Health Centre to entertain long-term care residents.

“I play music for their birthday party they have once a month,” said Brett, which she has done since the early 1990s. Brett entertains the residents either by playing the piano or the organ.

“I usually play the old gospel pieces or more of the older hymns. They know them and they love to hear them. Also a bit of the ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’ and those types of pieces that they know,” she added.

Brett’s love of music started early when she began taking piano lessons between the ages of 8-12 years old. According to Brett, she played a bit in church back in the day and when she arrived in Coaldale she started volunteering right away. “We moved out to southern Alberta in 1977 from southern Ontario,” said Brett, adding the Coaldale United Church needed someone to play organ and she played full-time for over 25 years at the church every Sunday, beginning in 1978.

Brett only plays occasionally at church these days but is busy sharing her love of music in Coaldale and Lethbridge.

“I do the Sunny South Lodge too, when our church has services there. I have since the Sunny South started doing the church service, which was right after I came here. For about the last five years I’ve been with the Sing-A-Long Gals — it’s a bunch of ladies. I play mostly for them. We entertain at seniors places or nursing homes every Thursday except for the two months in the summer, we don’t,” said Brett.

According to Brett, the Sing-A-Long Gals perform in Lethbridge at Legacy, Edith Cavell, St. Mike’s, as well as Columbia House and West Highlands on the westside and at Sunny South in Coaldale once a month.

Brett said she loves flowers and music and worked as a cashier over the years and at a flower shop but music has always been her one true love. “I love music.”

“I’ve always loved the piano and organ. It’s something I like doing. You just get kind of get asked to do something and you go OK and then 30 years later you’re still doing it,” she joked.

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