Grimsby Sings! shows off talent young and old

By Tristan Marks
NewsNow

The show must go on!

Last Friday, the Grimsby Seniors Choir – with the help from more than 70 other members of the community – released its first virtual production, a choral rendition of the jazz hit ‘Feeling Good’.

This represents the choir’s second intergenerational project, and the first production the choir has worked on since the COVID pandemic began. It is also the first ‘Grimsby Sings!’ community production.

Seniors Choir conductor Jennifer McKillop said that the production came out a desire to give the various member’s a chance to sing again.

“This past year has been very difficult for us not to be able to sing together,” McKillop said.

“For most of our members, singing is a essential as breathing.”

Gathering the choir to sing virtually was characterized as a challenge for the members, a challenge that they decided to extend to the community at large.

To recognize the community participation, the production was titled ‘Grimsby Sings!’.

“We had over 100 people respond to our call and over 70 people joined us in the process,” McKillop later said. “In the end, 43 of those participants submitted videos and I couldn’t be prouder of the result.”

The submitted videos were edited together to create the final product. Participants included seniors, children and singers of all ages in between, making this a truly intergenerational effort.

“To come out of this lockdown singing about Feeling Good shows how resilient and persevering we are as a community,” McKillop said. “We hope this video will travel far with our message; the first of many to come!”

She also wanted to give a shout out to Barb Clausen, the project coordinator.

“Barb deserves much recognition for her part in the organization and timeline of this project.”

The video premiere can be found on the Grimsby Seniors Choir Facebook page, their YouTube channel of the same name or the new Grimsby Sings Facebook page.