Helen MacDonald has been sharing the gift of music and song for decades in the Antigonish, N.S. area.
MacDonald plays the piano with a quiet confidence that comes from decades of experience.
She’s the star attraction each week at the R K MacDonald nursing home singalong - a musical gig she still enjoys as much as when she first started playing more than 20 years ago.
“If it makes people happy, I’ll just continue on doing it as long as I have my health,” says MacDonald. “I think it’s a wonderful thing. It brings them kind of alive. I find that music is, I love it myself, music, and I find a lot of other people love it too.”
The smiling faces and singing voices are proof that residents of the R K MacDonald nursing home enjoy music. There’s rarely a voice that remains quiet or a foot that isn’t tapping along.
“I love music,” says resident Mary Ellen MacDonald. “My family, they were all singers, so I love music. We used to have parties every Saturday night at home when we were young.”
“It brightens their loves, it makes their day,” says volunteer Ann Wells. “When they see Helen coming in, they’re all smiles.”
Helen shares her music with other community groups as well, including her local church and the legion.
“She’s very good,” says resident Blaise MacInnis. “I don’t know, I don’t know what we’d do without her, really, you can always depend on her.”
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