The Young@Heart Chorus, a group composed of New England senior citizens, has delighted audiences worldwide with renditions of songs by artists from The Clash to Coldplay.<\/p>\n
Young@Heart<\/i> chronicles seven weeks in the lives of the members of the chorus as they prepare for a one-night-only concert in their hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts. The group is made up of two dozen spirited seniors \u2014 former schoolteachers, executives, doctors, and food service workers \u2014 who specialize in reinterpreting rock, punk, and R&B classics from a unique perspective. What ultimately emerges in the film is a funny and unexpectedly moving testament to friendship, creative inspiration, and expectations defied.<\/p>\n
Led by Bob Cilman, their demanding musical director, the retirees are rehearsing their new show, struggling with Sonic Youth\u2019s dissonant rock anthem \u201cSchizophrenia,\u201d and giving new meaning to James Brown\u2019s \u201cI Feel Good.\u201d With less than two months to go until the concert, the performers grapple with new lyrics and unfamiliar melodies. During their thrice-weekly rehearsals, they gradually take possession of music ranging from R&B classics like Allen Toussaint\u2019s \u201cYes We Can Can\u201d to Coldplay\u2019s emotionally powerful ballad \u201cFix You,\u201d upending assumptions about old age, love, sex, and death.<\/p>\n
From 92-year-old Eileen Hall\u2019s rousing rendition of The Clash\u2019s \u201cShould I Stay or Should I Go?\u201d to 75-year-old Pat Linderme\u2019s moving interpretation of Prince\u2019s \u201cNothing Compares 2 U,\u201d each performance responds to the ravages of age with startling emotional depth. And, after almost two months of shooting, the Young@Heart Chorus delivers a triumphant performance that celebrates the joy of music and the lives of their lost friends. The end result is an inspirational journey with a singular group of people who may be old in body, but refuse to grow old in spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Their average age is 81, but the spirited members of the Young@Heart Chorus perform songs by artists from The Clash to Coldplay for audiences around the world, upending assumptions about friendship, old age, life, and death.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1216],"class_list":["post-262","films","type-films","status-publish","hentry","topic-arts-and-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n