"Nothing ever seemed to her to be difficult."
Ann Drinan
The late cellist and teacher Ettie Minor Luckey will be remembered at an event later this week. She was an enthusiastic proponent of the arts along Connecticut’s shoreline.
Luckey never held an official title, and was never elected to any office, but violist and neighbor Ann Drinan said she was one of those people who just made things happen.
“She had an amazing ability from my perspective of perceiving what needed to be done and immediately seeing how it could be done," Drinan said. "Nothing ever seemed to her to be difficult.”
Arts were Luckey's passion. After moving to Branford, she wanted to strengthen the classical music scene along the shoreline, and began with a Christmas favorite: Handel’s Messiah. The annual performance, offered free to the community, has been a tradition now in Branford for more than two decades.
"It started with just three choruses from the churches on the green, and then people heard about it, and started coming in from New Haven and Guilford and Madison and all over," Drinan said.
Among the notable regular choristers each year: State Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr.
Luckey also started a music school, taught many private cello students, and was a member of the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. She also played in a group called Elite Syncopation, a classical-style chamber ensemble that explored ragtime and early jazz.
Founder and musician Roy Wiseman said Luckey never did anything halfway, and you could hear that in her playing.
"The playing really reflects the personality," Wiseman said. "You just heard a lot of good will, good humor, and just good vibes in her playing."
Ettie Luckey died earlier this month. A memorial service will be held this weekend at Trinity Episcopal Church on the Branford Green.
Listen below to Elite Syncopation play Scott Joplin's "Bethena":
