Ninety-year-old Edwardsville resident Vivian Raffaelle’s fingers have been keying the oboe for 80 years — but they’re just as limber as ever.
“Most people say, ‘Why do you have to practice, you’ve played so long?’” Raffaelle said last week. “You have to keep it up or you lose it. You have to keep moving. I’ve never been one to sit still.”
Raffaelle proves that by playing the oboe in the municipal bands of three cities: Edwardsville, Troy and Granite City, practicing for and participating in dozens of concerts a year.
“I guess it just keeps me going and I enjoy it,” she said. “I never feel like I know enough. I’m always learning more so I just keep practicing and trying; you always feel like you can improve on something.”

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