Katie O’Nell is a precocious 12-year-old–the picture of the all-American pre-teen, complete with freckles and braces. The Lewis Middle School seventh-grader rolls her eyes as she answers questions about the Melody Makers music group, an informal collection of friends she put together two years ago. During the school year, they perform a variety of selections, from classical to pop, at local retirement homes on the last Friday of each month.  On this particular Friday evening, the venue is the St. Paul’s Villa assisted living center on Fourth Avenue Downtown. A jet roars through the darkening evening sky on final approach to Lindbergh Field. Purple Jacaranda petals cover the sidewalk in front of the 122-unit venue, which houses upwards of 110 clients at a time. O’Nell and her mother, Jennifer Coburn, are waiting in the comfort of some overstuffed chairs in the quiet, ornately carpeted lobby.   Melody Makers started around the end of the 2007 school year, O’Nell explained, speaking clearly and precisely, without the use of the ubiquitous “like” that seems to pepper the conversations of many children her age. She was doing a project with the Girl Scouts at the time, a project that made her think about some sort of community service work in the area. “I’d been taking piano lessons since I was about 8, and that was around the time that they were starting to get more interesting–not just scales and stuff,” she said. Trying to combine her desire to help the community with her passion for music, she came up with the idea for Melody Makers.  “I realized that I had a ton of friends who could all play piano or another musical instrument,” she said. Finding enough friends was no problem, and, with the help of her mother, O’Nell set about contacting hospitals and retirement homes in the area. O’Nell emcees each event and galvanizes everyone in advance by sending reminder e-mails and creating an event program with the performers’ names and pieces. Coburn and another mom contact the homes and arrange for the children to come in each month. Karen Kerhin, St. Paul’s Villa administrator, reported that the venue’s average age is 88. A trove of experience resides in such a collective, she said–and awakening that experience is a key component of the residents’ comfort. “When we have music groups come in,” Kerhin explained, “we’ll often have them play music from the era the residents are from. That [awakens] memories, and that gives them a better sense of well-being.” St. Paul’s also hosts an intergenerational meet-and-greet program, wherein elderly clients make contact with others from succeeding generations. “A lot of times, the residents can’t have their great-grandchildren here. The program lets them connect with younger people,” she said, furthering social contact and the pleasant memories that evolve therefrom. But the real miracle is in the music. Wholesale studies reflect the art’s vital role in lifting the spirit and in healing certain psychological and physiological imbalances. Increased awareness of these findings has taken on a certain refinement in professional circles in the form of the Certification Board for Music Therapists, a Downington, Pa. institution that credentials and recertifies more than 4,500 Certified Music Therapists (CMTs) nationwide. “Anytime you smile at a senior,” Kerhin said, “it brightens their day. The music makes it even better.” On this evening, 10 children ranging in age from 7 to 15, CMTs in their own rights, have arrived. All are ready to play one or more pieces on the piano, violin or flute. The residents of St. Paul’s have begun to file into a spacious ballroom next to the lobby, where several rows of chairs sit next to a wooden dance floor. In the far corner, beside a pair of French doors that lead to the central courtyard, a large white grand piano faces the room. The front row is empty. The seats behind are sparsely filled with gray-haired ladies and two elderly men as O’Nell gets things under way. She introduces herself, explains what the group is and why it’s here. She introduces the first performer, 7-year-old Aubrey Hanna, who strides across the room and disappears behind the huge piano. From the far side of the room, only a tiny pair of legs is visible, swinging beneath the bench as the music begins.  The skill level varies from child to child, but each receives a hearty round of applause from the audience and the back row, filled with beaming parents. The residents seem genuinely pleased to have the young people come in and perform.  “They’re always great,” said one lady. “It’s a delight to have them here every time.” And both groups made out like bandits this time. It turns out, Kerhin said, that “everybody got to taste each other’s cookies” as patrons and players had brought the treats for the other, not knowing each was bearing the same gift. Afterward, O’Nell makes her way through the rows, speaking with each resident. She makes sure the reporter has spoken to each child and checks that everyone’s name has been spelled correctly. Then she insists that they all sit for a group portrait. The Melody Makers “are always looking for more people,” said O’Nell. She can be reached at [email protected]. Jennifer Coburn’s e-mail is jencoburn @cox.net.