"She’s our Marlene Dietrich," say the staff at Yerevan’s Orran (Haven) Center in response to a smiling Marlene Hakobyan.

Marlene Hakobyan, 91, in a black coat, orange scarf and headgear, smiles, pointing to a silver ring. She’s put identical rings on three fingers. "This finger is swollen so if I wear a ring, it doesn’t show.That's why I put the other two on,” explains Mrs. Marlene, leaning on a cane. She says she used to be physical therapist, then laughs and adds, "If you have anything crooked, I can heal it." We all laugh.

Marlene Hakobyan

Mrs. Marlene has been attending the center, which dispenses a variety of social services for children and the elderly, for the past twenty years, and she is also one of the first members of the Orran Choral Group.

The lunch hour has just ended. Musician Silva Karapetyan approaches the piano in the sunny lobby. Seniorsgracefully exit the cafeteria and start to look us over. Orran's Rainbow Choral Groupmembers start to prepare for their music lesson. They remove hand written notes from their bags, and then take seats on chairs next to the piano.

Silva Karapetyan is the artistic director of the choir. The seniors address heras "comrade Silva" or "maestro". She responds by calling the choir members "artists", noting that this is not a choir but a performance group

Silva Karapetyan

There are eleven in the Rainbow Choir. The youngest is 55 and the oldest, 91.

"Where's Gegham?" they all ask. Gegham is the youngest. “When you hear him sing, he sings opera arias, his voice will amaze you.”

Mrs. Silva, taking thesong lyrics from the piano, starts playing. All the while, she’s relaying instructionsby moving her head this way and that. The playlist has 62 songs in Armenian, Russian, Italian, English. The lyrics of the last two languages ​​are written in Armenian, then memorized. Choir members say such a method is quite helpful.

Gayaneh Gevorgyan, a former librarian, is 67. She says she never sang in a group settingand has no musical training. She just wants to sing.Mrs. Gayaneh adds that she regrets not joining the group sooner.

“I get depressed thinking about my problems. I remember being happy. If you live by singing, if you like songs, Armenian or foreign, singing cures what ails you. I can honestly say that I don't go to the doctor, I live with song. My wellbeing suffers if I miss these classes for a month,” she says.

Gayaneh Gevorgyan and Aida Mnatsakanyan

The others listen attentively. Aida Mnatsakanyan is one of the group’s member with musical training. Neatly dressed -sporting pink nails and jewelry - she, confirms the words of her neighbor.

“Mrs. Aida, how old are you?”

“90. Oops, I'm sorry. I'm 80 years,” she says, then laughs. “Why did I age myself so?”

Mrs. Aida says despite health problems, which have caused her to miss many classes,she makes it a point to attend. She says she gets a lot of positive energy from her lessons. She adds that their group is different from the other. They just don’t stand in place, singing. They also dance to the music they sing.

You don’t really appreciate these songs at a young age. As you grow older, youexperience them at a much deeper level. That's the difference,” says Mrs. Gayaneh.

Sargis Semerjyan, 76, worked as a firefighter for 33 years.

"How many fires have you put out?" we ask.

"Oh, for startersthere was the nuclear power plant, institute of physics... Our nuclear power plant would have been another Chernobyl if we hadn't managed to save it at the last second. It would have been a terrible thing for our country," he says.

The former firefighter/rescuer says he’s loved song and music since childhood but was not able to express that passionwhile he was raising a family and working. Now that he has retired, he has the opportunity and is making up for lost time.

77-year-old Larisa Davtyan, a former school principal, says she heard about the chorus from a friend who attends Orran and had great things to say about the center. So, Mrs. Larisa decided to check it out. She’s now a member of the chorus.

Maestro Karapetyan says that since everyone in the choir has their own color, they’ve named the group “Rainbow”.

Laura Saratikyan, 80, brings her chair closer to the others.

“Here, they call me Gagik Shamshyan. Well, they say, Shamshyan videotapes bad news stories, but not you,”says the 80-year-old woman and smiles. She says she has performed several times with the chorus at concerts, even singing in the old-age home. Now they preparing to celebrate Orran's 20th anniversary. (Gagik Shamshyan is a Yerevan-based reporter known for his photos of car crashes, shootings, etc.)

Laura Saratikyan

Orran Acting Director Armine Hovannisian came up with the idea of creating the chorus six years ago, while returning to Armenia from one of her trips to the U.S. She says that American culture might have influenced her decision, noting that seniors there, in comparison with Armenia, are better off.  (Հա․․․եթէ փող ունես)

Armine Hovannisian

Mrs. Hovannisian recounts that her initiative was not enthusiastically accepted at first. It was difficult to sell the elderly on the idea of a chorus. Many questioned the idea of singing at their age.  Mrs. Hovannisian smiles and says that, nevertheless, six courageous souls agreed to give it a go.  They invited a teacher, and organized a concert a bit later, attended by ambassadors, friends of Orran and donors.

The following day, the choir members felt like stars.  Mrs. Hovannisian says the feeling was contagious, it may have become a bit contagious and soon some older Orran members wanted to join the group.

“Each carries an entire history book within them. There have been years when some of them have held positions. We have educated people here, but fate was cruel. They experienced the country’s transition phase. Many of their children are not here. They are elderly and living on their own. I can say that if 50% of them come here just to get hot food, the other 50% appreciates camaraderie. I am very glad that they come to Orran prepared, well dressed. This is also a friendly environment for them. They help each other and give advice. The whole purpose of Orran was to serve as a cozy corner, a home, where both adults and children would find a cheerful place where people care about them,” says Mrs. Hovannisian Hovhannisyan.

"There are people here whose fortunes have been less than kind. Some have lost their children. There are some who’ve even lacked a place to sleep," said choir leader Karapetyan.

When the seniors start singing, she says, they forget their cares and woes, even for short time.

Photos and video by Ani Sargsyan