A 94-year-old Alcester, South Dakota pianist is putting a smile on the faces of some nursing home residents, church-goers and community members this holiday season.
Photojournalist Dave Hauck has the story.
"My mother played the piano and organ both. My brother played the violin, we were all a musical family," Lillian Solbue said.
"My two sisters all took lessons, and I just got three lessons in and that's all I got but then I played by ear. I just listened to the music and then go and sit down and play it. I might have to play it over a couple times before I get it right. It just comes natural I guess, I don't know," Solbue said.
"Lillian plays in our church every month and we enjoy her music tremendously. It just livens up the whole church when she plays. My husband Dean and I took her up to (someplace) and Scott recorded her there on a grand piano. She sat down and recorded an hour's worth of music," Nancy Johnson said.
"We took her out to dinner, then brought her back and she recorded the rest so the CD has 44 songs on it. Goes from sacred to Christmas sacred to what I call bee-bop, and then some patriotic," Vera Voog said.
"Just turned out terrific and so now everybody at church that's wanted one has gotten one. We've had people from all over ask for them and so we're sending them out in the mail to Sioux City, Sioux Falls, over in Iowa," Solbue said.
She didn't even start this until she was 67, but she started going around to the nursing homes and playing in the church I thought she had done it all the time.
"They get a lot of satisfaction, wonderful. They come here in great numbers. This place is usually filled when she comes here playing her numbers," Johnson said.
