'Automatic connection': Choir made up of seniors bringing joy to Winnipeg
One Winnipeg choir is proving that age is just a number.
The ‘Movin’ On’ choir is made up of tenants of Dakota House, an assisted living home in St. Vital. The choir’s youngest member is 76 and its oldest is 97; however, they are all young at heart.
“You know, it's not the best singing in the world, far from it. We're just amateurs, but we're singing together and it means a lot,” said Anne Yanchyshyn, a 95-year-old singer with Movin’ On.
The choir gives the seniors an opportunity to socialize. It also brings joy to both those singing and those who get to listen.
“I think it's important for older people especially, to have something of interest in their lives,” said Irene Young, the choir’s director.
“And we see by the residents' response when we have a concert, the room is packed. So they love it as much as we do.”
The members of Movin’ On perform songs from their youth, including It’s a Small World, Doggy in the Window, and He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.
"They are from the past. We have fun, for example, doing 'Doggy in the Window', because we had another person, a man, do the barking at the end and he was so good and unpredictable,” Yanchyshyn said.
The Dakota House tenants who aren’t in the choir love to hear Movin’ On perform at monthly concerts and on special occasions.
“They enjoy it to the point where they sing with us when they know the words, so they always tell us they like us,” said Margaret Rempel, the choir’s pianist.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the choir, which used to be called the Dakota Dazzlerss, took a long pause. But now it’s back with a new name that represents how the choir has persevered.
“After the COVID had passed, I changed the name to Movin On because we kept singing,” Young said.
Through a shared love of music and song, the choir continues to bring joy and harmony to many in the community.
“When you have a song that you're all enjoying -- it's automatic connection,” Rempel said.
“Just singing the same things, knowing all the songs that we used to sing, that's an automatic connection.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.