‘My job is to combat boredom’: Saskatoon care home musician retires after nearly 20 years

A longtime musician at a Saskatoon care home is calling it a career, and as Laura Woodward reports, his impact goes far beyond the music.

A longtime musician at a Saskatoon care home is calling it a career.

After nearly 20 years as the musician and recreational coordinator at Sherbrooke Community Centre, Wes Froese is retiring.

Froese knows everyone by name — a small gesture that strikes a big chord with residents.

“Every time I come by, he says, ‘Brenda!’ and I love it. I’m really going to miss him,” resident Brenda Pryor said.

More than the music, Froese is known for how he makes people feel.

Resident Tracey Laroque remembers when Froese took the time to learn her favourite song, “Little Arrows” by Leapy Lee.

“I asked him to play Little Arrows and he didn’t know how. Two days later, he came with his guitar in the hallway and he played it for me,” Laroque said.

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Resident Jen Siemens describes him as spunky and happy.

Froese has a history of dressing up — from Dolly Parton to Snow White — and says there’s purpose behind the playfulness.

“My job is to combat boredom because it can really hurt people. Boredom is counteracted by spontaneity. So we do spontaneous things — we dress up funny, we show up in the hallway,” Froese said.

Music has always been part of Froese’s life. He grew up singing in church, later learning to play piano and guitar.

“And you have to know harmonica if you do Piano Man,” Froese said, laughing.

Before starting at Sherbrooke in 2008, Froese played piano for a special-needs dance group.

“Sherbrooke has been a wonderful place to hone my craft as an entertainer, and that’s allowed me to go other places,” Froese said, noting his show at the Bassment next month.

He expects to return to Sherbrooke for a few encores after his retirement on March 31.