A Review of the Film: Young @ Heart

Young @ Heart: A movie that shows the social impact of choral participation

              Young @ Heart is a choir that performs rock and pop music by senior citizens. This film is a documentary directed by a British filmmaker Steven Walker who first came into contact with the Young @Heart Chorus while it was touring Europe. His film follows the group and interviews some of the individual members while they are preparing for a major tour. 

             The average age of the singers is 83 and the minimum age requirement is 73 years old. The Young @ Heart chorus is based in Northampton, Massachusetts and is directed by Bob Cilman. The films shows the interrelationships between the music, the singers, their families, their communities, their health and emotional welfare, the relationship with their audiences and with their choral director as well. Two members of the choir who are struggling with health problems die during the filming process and another singer Eileen Hall dies shortly after the filming of the movie.

             One man in particular whose heart is failing is singing while on oxygen and the other participants including the musical director Bob Cilman talk about the importance of having him perform with the group. Wives and other family members of failing members of the choir speak about the importance of the choir on their loved one’s lives. For some, getting better after a bout with cancer or heart disease means struggling towards a recovery that will include the chorus as part of their lives again. This is a goal that is important to them in their healing process and it is also important to the other members of the choir. Many members had never met each other until they sang together in the choir. Many members had never heard music from such artists as Coldplay but they learn with time to interpret the music and sing it well enough to thrill audiences. For this to be an authentic musical experience for these singers musical director Bob Cilman chooses music with emotional depth and doesn’t pull any punches, insisting that his singers learn the music. There are no excuses such as I’m old and I have never heard this type of music before. Everyone is there to learn the music and everyone has problems including health and personal problems they must overcome to learn the music and show up for rehearsals every week.

          I cannot help but think that part of the charm of hearing and seeing them is that they are showing all of us that you can still be vital and relevant to the world around when you are old. The positive and aggressive take no prisoners attitude of the members is encouraging to anyone who has thought about growing older and still having something to say to the world and to have purpose. As a future choir director, I don’t just think about the music as an art form. I think about the relationships that will be forged and how lives will be changed by having a positive group experience while working towards real and challenging goals. My own best memories of choir practice have been a mixture of hearing our group perform challenging music well and the caring community that we and the director had created for ourselves. The film, Young @ Heart shows the viewer exactly why choirs are so important both artistically and socially to everyone involved.