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Video: Pioneer Manor’s resident choir revives special Christmas tradition

The Pioneers Choir was on hiatus during COVID, and this is the group’s first Christmas concert since the pandemic

Celine Trudeau never sang before joining The Pioneers Choir, but she jokes that with a name like Celine (referring to Canadian songstress Celine Dion), she ought to be able to sing.

Made up of residents of Pioneer Manor, the choir was first formed in 2013, but had a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Performing to a packed crowd of friends, family members and residents of the care home, the 18-member choir held its first Christmas concert since the pandemic on Dec. 18.

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Members of The Pioneers Choir perform at their Christmas concert at Pioneer Manor Dec. 18, 2024. Heidi Ulrichsen/Sudbury.com

The group was accompanied on guitar by Joanne Polack, a Sudbury musician and life enrichment worker at Pioneer Manor, who directs the group, as well as Paul Dunn, also a local musician, whose mother is in the choir.

“I love the togetherness, and all of us chatting and meeting each other in between rehearsals,  and it's a lot of fun,” said Trudeau, who joined the choir last year, and said her favourite Christmas song to perform is “Silent Night.”

“If you would have told me a couple years ago, I'd be singing in a choir, I'd say never,” said Trudeau. “But Joanne (Polack) approached me and she says, ‘You're going to get better, and it's going to be good for you. And it is good for me.’”

While some members, like Trudeau, are relatively new to singing, others have been with The Pioneers since its creation, and have even been musicians or sung in choirs in their earlier lives.

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Celine Trudeau performs at the The Pioneers Choir Christmas concert at Pioneer Manor Dec. 18, 2024. Heidi Ulrichsen/Sudbury.com

“It's a very special time for our residents and all their family members and the staff here too,” said Polack, who goes by the nickname JoPo.

She said the choir members are used to taking in performances at Pioneer Manor, so “to be the entertainment is a whole other level for them,” she said. “They're pretty excited about this whole experience.”

Watch The Pioneers in action in our video above.

Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.

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Paul Dunn and Joanne Polack perform at The Pioneers Choir Christmas concert at Pioneer Manor Dec. 18, 2024. Heidi Ulrichsen/Sudbury.com
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The Pioneers Choir poses for a group photo before their Christmas concert Dec. 18, 2024. Heidi Ulrichsen/Sudbury.com

 



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