Leo, Braille Tones Member

According to Leo Wong’s mother, Yoko, he’s always been drawn to music. She fondly remembers Leo sitting in on her classes whenever she taught the violin as well as the days when he would sing with his sister while she played piano.

Leo also has a rather eclectic taste in music that ranges from classical music (most notably Mozart when he was younger) and opera to musicals. Some of his favourites are The Jungle Book, The Sound of Music, The Lion King, and The Wizard of Oz.

As his love of music grew more and moreover the years, Yoko and her husband eventually decided to get Leo into vocal lessons to hone his talents and his love of singing. Eventually, this led them to Braille Tones when the group was just starting over 25 years ago which was another steppingstone for Leo and his love for singing.

“We thought maybe it would be nice to sing with other people besides singing by himself,” Yoko said. “And Leo is so good [at singing].”

Ever since then, Leo has been making a lot of memories including concerts at senior centers and trips to places like Saskatoon, but for Leo, it’s all about the singing and getting the chance to do so. However, the way Yoko sees it, it’s “a wonderful way to spend Saturday mornings” with the amazing friends he’s made over the years.

“You get to know all kinds of different people who love to sing,” she explained. “It’s a community of singers and young people helping each other. In the pandemic, we realized it’s not just a choir, it’s also a wonderful community.”

Written by Chris Ranta