Residents living at MercyCare’s Residential Aged Care experienced an extraordinary treat when internationally-renowned pianist David Helfgott visited for a special, one-off performance recently.
Mr Helfgott, whose life was dramatised in the award-winning 1996 Australian movie Shine, performed a 45-minute mini-concert for MercyCare residents in the atrium of the organisation’s Wembley Residential Aged Care facility on Friday, 6 March.
Mr Helfgott was in Perth to perform at Mundaring Weir Hotel but shares an affinity with elderly people and wanted to give a personal gift to the residents of MercyCare through his music.
Mr Helfgott said his visit to MercyCare dovetailed with what was his farewell concert at the Mundaring Weir Hotel and he was pleased to have the opportunity to interact with the elderly residents.
“I like older people and I enjoy spending time in their company, so I’m very happy to play for the residents at MercyCare,” he said.
MercyCare Executive Director of Aged Care Services Carlo Calogero said residents were excited to have such a celebrated musical prodigy in their midst.
“David’s incredible reputation preceded him and, naturally, all our residents were very excited to see him perform,” he said.
“It was a fairly unique opportunity for our residents to see a world-class performance from the comfort of their own home at MercyCare.”
MercyCare Chief Executive Officer Chris Hall thanked Mr Helfgott for his generosity in sharing his music with the residents of MercyCare.
“Sometimes the elderly can be isolated from cultural events within our community, so we are enormously grateful for David’s generosity and thoughtfulness giving his time to spend with our residents,” he said.
MercyCare is a leading Catholic provider of aged care, family, health and community services.