'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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.