Applause is nice. Singing and dancing are even better. But Marian Breeggemann and Myrtle Williams feel gratified if audience members merely tap a foot or a finger.
"When you see them respond, it makes you feel really good," said Breeggemann, of Shakopee.
The two concertina players bring their music to nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and senior apartment buildings year-round, but especially at holiday time, when they add Christmas carols to their repertoire of polkas, waltzes and old-time favorites.
"Seniors relate back to that music," said Breeggemann, who announces the songs and leads the singing. "Even the ones with dementia."
Several years ago, the volunteer musicians were told "not to bother" with the dementia wing of a nursing home, said Williams, of Chaska, because "they don't know anything that's going on." But later, a new manager came on board and asked them to play some tunes for those residents. They've been doing it ever since.
"They may look like they're sleeping, then you see a foot going," Williams said. "They're enjoying it -- they know you're there."
The duo met about eight years ago when Breeggemann attended a performance featuring members of the Czech Area Concertina Club. (Williams is a longtime member, and Breeggemann has since joined.)
"It looked like everybody was having fun," said Breeggemann. The concertina, which is somewhat like an accordion but smaller and with buttons but no keys, has a well-deserved reputation for being hard to learn. But after hearing about Breeggemann's background as a church organist, Williams encouraged her to give it a try.
"She picked it up like that," Williams said. Soon Williams was inviting Breeggemann to join her and another player at nursing-home gigs. The other player moved to Wisconsin, but Breeggemann and Williams kept on playing, sometimes with other club members, but usually just the two of them and their gleaming, mother-of-pearl concertinas.
Williams has been playing concertina for decades. "The first time I heard one, I thought, 'Someday I want to play one of those.' But there were eight of us [children]. I couldn't expect my parents to buy me a concertina. It was always a dream." Finally, in her 40s, she bought an instrument and taught herself to play.
Now 80, she's older than many of the seniors in their audiences. Last year, she had quadruple bypass surgery and had to sit out the holiday season. But this Christmas, she's back with Breeggemann, 74. "I'm playing now more than ever," Williams said. "Music keeps you young, keeps you hopping. And if you can do something for somebody less fortunate, why not do it?"
Kim Palmer • 612-673-4784
