THE BUNYA Mountains will be alive with the sound of music when Orana Lutheran Complex residents gracefully sing at an annual variety concert in Kingaroy during Queensland’s Seniors Week.

The concert will be held at Kingaroy Uniting Church from 2pm on Sunday August 21, featuring four local choirs performing separately and together.

The Orana Choir comprises 16 vocalists, including five male members, who will sing four songs including Some Enchanted Evening and I Dreamed A Dream. One of the tunes will comprise a solo performance by Orana’s chaplain, Greg Noll.

Queensland’s Seniors Week 2011 will be celebrated from 20–28 August. The theme, Positively Ageless, reinforces the countless benefits of having a positive attitude to life at any age.

Orana resident Joan Winter, 81-years-old, has lived at Orana Retirement Village since 2006. She started the choir back in the mid 1970s to brighten up residents’ lives. Shortly afterwards they took out two prizes, including first, at an ageing focused eisteddfod in Toowoomba. 

Over the years the group has performed on local radio 4SB and at many community events.

“We sing lovely music and it is great for our lungs,” she said.

“It’s wonderful that at my age I can help everyone around me and sing the Soprano.

“It’s also a great achievement for a group of people aged over 80-years-old to still be singing and using our voices.

“We all proved you can sing for a long time in your life and you don’t have to give up just because you are old.”

Orana Lutheran Complex General Manager Richard Fahy said it is important for people to recognise the contribution older Australians make in our community.

“Seniors Week is an opportunity for all age groups to reflect and engage with each other as a community and to allow different generations to learn from each other,” he said. 

“Part of Orana’s vision is to facilitate that generational bridge and allow us to retain and share the vast pool of knowledge the senior generation have collected throughout their lives.  

“This Orana choir is one example of older Queenslanders uniting though using their voices as the common thread.”

Richard said the event keeps getting bigger each year and near 100 people attended last year with all proceeds raised from the concert divided between a number of charities.

Admission will cost $10 including afternoon tea.

In 2011, community groups will hold more than 50 Seniors Week events across the state.

There will also be a trivia afternoon held at Orana on Wednesday August 24, providing residents with another occasion to come together to celebrate Seniors Week.