Popular music in action: Singing and Ageing in Public in Québec
Line Grenier, PhD
Professeure agrégée
Université de Montréal
Pavillon Marie-Victorin, Département de communication
C.P. 6128 Succ. Centre-Ville
Montréal QC H3C 3J7
/90 avenue Vincent d’Indy, Bureau B-418
Montréal H2V 2S9
514) 343-6111 poste 28623
www.cpcc-lab.org
www.actproject.ca
Abstract:
Expanding on Margaret Morganroth Gullette’s argument that we are “aged by culture” (2004), this presentation explores some of the ways in which we might be aged by music. What does ageing in popular music mean in Québec? How does music-making mediate ageing? How is ageing “in public” performed in/through popular music in Quebec? The exploration focuses on the configurations of singing and ageing articulated at public events featuring seniors considered as moments of music in action. Based on ethnographic research conducted over the last 3 years, I discuss contrasting examples of (mostly secondary) performances involving different groups of seniors taking part in distinct sites of music-making: Étoile des aînés, a music ‘talent’ contest for people 65 and older, Jeunes de Choeur, a Québécois adaptation of the American Young@Heart chorus, and the Montreal-based community theater group RECAA – Respecting Elders: Communities Against Abuse.
