A 95-year-old piano connoisseur with arthritis was surprised with a private piano concert from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s pianist on Monday thanks to the generosity of family and community.
Marney Heth, 95, used to be able to bang out the keys in her youth and started playing piano at the age of 16. Her daughter, Patti Price, fondly remembered when her mother would upgrade her pianos for the house.
“I remember the new pianos coming in,” Price told WFAA. “That was always a day full of excitement.”
But as Heth has aged, her arthritic hands have kept her from being able to play the piano like she used to. Now, she teaches 12-year-old Noah Hidalgo, the son of a staff member at the retirement community where she lives.
“He brings me so much joy,” Heth said.
But Heth’s family and the community wanted to bring some more joy to Heth’s life.
So on Monday morning, her family and the staff at the Mustang Creek retirement facility brought in Buddy Bray, the pianist for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, to give Heth a concert she would never forget.
Bray played all of Heth’s favorite songs and even performed a duet with her piano student, Noah.
“It’s about the closest thing to heaven, I have to say,” she explained.