This is the second feature in a short series highlighting artists living at Sopris Lodge Carbondale Senior Living.
Sopris Lodge is home to many incredible artists and musicians who bring their unique mediums together for the sake of creativity and connection. One of these talented folks is 92-year-old Helen Oliver, a flutist and former congregational vocalist. She has had quite the musical journey.
Originally from Owensboro, Kentucky, Oliver was drawn to music from an early age. When it came to settling on the flute as her instrument of choice, she drew from two points in her life: middle school and retirement.
“I started out playing the flute in junior high,” she told The Sopris Sun. “At my [high] school you had to choose … between the band and the chorus if you wanted to stay in music. I chose the chorus.”
When asked why she made that decision, Oliver explained that going to school in the late ‘40s came with many, now outdated, expectations for young girls.
“Girls were encouraged to play either the flute or clarinet [because of] the idea that if you joined the band, girls could physically carry those instruments. I have a grandson who played the tuba, and he was not any larger than I was then,” quipped Oliver. “So we know that’s not true, but at that time we were encouraged to do that.”
After temporarily dropping the flute, Oliver spent most of her school career and early adult life singing in church choirs. She and her husband lived in northern Ohio after getting married. They moved to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1993, after her husband retired from teaching. About 10 years ago, while spending some spare time at a senior living community back East she was met with a full-circle opportunity to pick up the flute once again.
“The senior center there advertised a band. If you had played in school, or if you wanted to learn an instrument, you could join. So that’s what I did,” she relayed with a smile.
Oliver moved to Carbondale in 2019 following the passing of her husband to be closer to her sons, Kent and Karl. Oliver said that she enjoys the mountains and nature in Colorado. She has found much joy in being surrounded by other creatives at Sopris Lodge.
She befriended a woman named Alice, another Sopris Lodge resident and a piano and choir teacher who was looking for someone to play music with. The pair played together up until July of this year when Alice was faced with some health issues.
The duo performed together, along with other residents, at Sopris Lodge’s first Christmas concert last winter. Many visitors and residents alike joined in on the songs — a memory Oliver holds dear to her heart.
“The fact that so many local residents came to hear our first Christmas concert was very meaningful,” she stated.
When asked if she had any advice for young artists, she encouraged them to make connections with other artists — much like she has with Alice. She added that there is no shortage of individual artists and organizations here, and to take full advantage of the fact.
“There is so much in the Valley available,” she concluded. “I would say get as much information as possible about music, art and the community and see what it could do for you.”