Senior Living: Bringing back the song
Published 10:51 am Thursday, February 8, 2024
Beverly Kestner sings her solo. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Pauline Field plays the piano at age 101 at the Cedars Christmas program recently. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Ken Jensen sings a solo at the Cedars Choir performance recently. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
The Cedar Rivers singers hold their first program since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Pat Bos sings in the choir. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
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After nearly four years on hiatus, the Cedars Singers are back in the spotlight and they performed in front of a packed crowd as they sang some Christmas classics doing their Christmas program on Jan. 11.
The show was the first for the singers since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a much welcomed return as they belted out songs like “Joy to the World, “We Three Kings” and “Silent Night.”
“They love it. It’s a joy to them to have this again and to be able to perform for their loved ones,” said Cathy Ehley, the Recreation and Wellness director at Cedars Senior Living Community.
The performance featured soloists, speakers telling about the birth of Jesus and the piano play of Pauline Field, who is 101-years old. Field’s performance brought Ehley to tears after the program as she was integral in starting the Cedars Singers six years ago.
This year saw the singers begin practicing in October and they had moved the original concert date from December to January due to some minor setbacks. The concert is a great chance for the seniors to show their stuff and it also presents a golden opportunity for family members to visit.
“They love singing,” Ehley said. “We’ve had a couple of hurdles along the way with people being sick where we had to stop and start, but they were super excited and they couldn’t wait to do it.”
The Cedar Singers plan on doing a spring concert as well. In that show, they perform old hits like “Ride a Bicycle for 2,” and “You are my Sunshine.”
“It’s usually a fun, upbeat show,” Ehley said.
