Meet the 93-year-old entertainer at a Winnipeg retirement home who’s still got it

For six decades, Audrey has played piano for residents at the Portsmouth Retirement Home.

Around 3 p.m. every Sunday afternoon, seniors fill the seats in a second-floor room at the Portsmouth Retirement Home, eagerly awaiting to be serenaded by a seasoned musician.

As they take their places, Audrey – who strictly uses only her first name – gets settled in at the piano bench; a spot she’s found comfort in for more than six decades.

The 93-year-old was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has been drawn to music for as long as she could remember.

“When I say age two, it was when I was alert to music all the time,” Audrey recalled. “My mother used to run around the house singing all the time. My father had his own apothecary, and he had late hours. So my mother always had parties in the house.

“And how did I learn these songs? They sat me at the piano.”

Audrey said she grew up playing the classics but eventually fell in love with jazz.

“I have an ear that I hear the chords as I’m playing and I know which chords I’m going to use,” Audrey said.

After she had her third child, Audrey said she was given the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I was very friendly with the man who ran WQXR, which is a radio station, and he invited me to his home,” Audrey said. “And what greeted me were two six-foot grand pianos facing each other and a room full of musicians, from Benny Goodman, Harry James, Duke Ellington … they were just lazying around the piano.”

Audrey went on to travel the world as a performer, eventually settling down in Winnipeg in the 1970s. Being in her 40s, Audrey was told she wouldn’t make it in the city. However, she managed to snag a months-long stint at the Northstar Inn’s Silver Slipper (now the Radisson Hotel).

“Music makes me feel warm all over,” Audrey said. “It makes me want to play. It makes me want to express myself.”

While in Winnipeg, Audrey realized she wanted to help others feel better with the power of music.

“I knew what music can do for somebody in the hospital,” she said.

At the age of 51, Audrey became a registered nurse and began introducing music therapy at St. Boniface Hospital. Now retired, she moved into Portsmouth less than a year ago, but continues to play her tunes for anyone who will listen.

“(Music) makes me want to be with people. The more people, the better.”