For the 97-year-old woman, who has played piano since she was 5 years old, nothing was more painful than being unable to sit in front of a piano.

"Piano is my life," says Philips, who has stayed at ManorCare Health Services, a Sunnyvale nursing home, since August of 2001. "I cannot live without it."

She withdrew to her room, unwilling to join any group activities until ManorCare's activities director, Jaleh Behzadi, encouraged her to play keyboard. She refused at first but has learned to like it. Now she not only plays keyboard at least 30 minutes a day but is one of the most active residents at ManorCare, Behzadi says.

Philips says it is bliss to be able to play piano again. On Christmas Day, she will share her joy and gratitude by playing for 116 other residents at ManorCare's Christmas party.

Philips was born and raised in Chicago. She said she inherited her musical talents from her father's side—two of her aunts were opera stars in Germany.

Though her talents in piano were apparent at a young age, she never played in public until she was 80. She suffered a breakdown at age 11, just before her debut concert, which was hyped as a performance by a child prodigy.

"I was scared to death," she says. "All the invitations were sent out, but I just couldn't play."

Although her career as a concert pianist ended even before it started, she never stopped playing piano. Her husband, Gladstone, was especially supportive.

"He would sit in his chair and listen to me play Chopin," she says.

When her husband died, her grandson, Peter Welch, helped Philips maintain her interest in piano. Welch, who has sung in musicals since high school, often brings her new songs to play.

She also began to play in public almost 20 years ago. With the encouragement of her church members, Philips overcame her stage fright and started playing for her church, Union Presbyterian Church in Los Altos. Since then she has played at various charity events.

"Sometimes people would come up to me and tell me it was not the way it was written, but I always replied, 'That is my style,' " she says.

Philips says she still misses her grand piano, but the keyboard is a nice substitute because she can play in bed or in her wheelchair by placing it on a portable dinner tray.

"Keyboards don't sound as good as grand pianos," she says. "But I am content."