When I Sing…..
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Sheridan Auditorium
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“The only thing better than singing is more singing“
-Ella Fitzgerald
"He who sings frightens away his ills"
-Cervantes
"Singing
promotes health, breathing, circulation and
digestion."
-John Harvey Kellogg “Mr. Cornflakes”
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When I Sing 2014
Singing is everywhere and singing is in every one of us, to one
degree or another.
“To sing for other people be it in nursing homes, citizenship
ceremonies, Christmas carols, choir concerts; the mix of music
and cultures, creates harmony in community”.
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When I Sing 2014
Imagine…..
…bringing over 90 people, young and old, from 8 community spaces together to
sing;
…awakening unheard voices in a series of workshops that teach four part
acapella harmonies in barbershop style;
… the power of a chorus of 100+ voices sharing the sound and spirit of choral
singing with their families and neighbours;
…being a part of a unique community effort that builds friendships and promotes
health and wellness* by sharing the gift of music.
*Research by the Chorus Impact Study conducted by Chorus America (2003; 2009), Stacey et
al.’s (2002) report on 20,000 Voices, and Bohan’s (2005) qualitative exploration of White and
Holley’s (2001) philosophy – offer some support for the claim that community singing generates a
range of positive impacts which are beneficial for promoting health and wellbeing on both an
individual and communal level.
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When I Sing 2014
The Benefits of Singing Together
Numerous studies utilising different
research designs and methodological
approaches have reported the physical,
social, mental, emotional and spiritual
benefits of singing together:
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When I Sing 2014
“Group singing can be indescribably uplifting. The sound of collective
voices making wonderful sounds together - having created and practised
when initially it seemed impossible - is quite unlike anything else, and
participants feel the effects of this achievement in quite dramatic ways. “
“For me, now, the space and place I live in is stamped with the
experiences of singing with the choir…a virtual village of belonging, that
has made this my home”. (Gridley, 2008, p.305”
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When I Sing 2014
Mental Benefits…
• Learning to sing songs from beginning to end improves
your reading skills and your motor skills, by developing
the coordination between your brain and your body.
• The process of learning a song is a fascinating task, with
a distinct start and an end product. It's an artistic activity,
but also a structured and disciplined one, especially when
we sing with others. We are therefore exercising our
structural capabilities without necessarily realizing this is
happening - which is very helpful for people who might
normally avoid or dislike a lot of discipline and method.
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When I Sing 2014
Mental Benefits…
• Singing helps to calm negative mental 'chatter' - the
distracting unhelpful thoughts we can all have at times
- because you are focused on the job of singing, and
this stops us dwelling on life's issues and problems.
• Singing is utterly absorbing and radically different from
usual work-related tasks. Like physical exercise,
singing requires a level of focus and bodily activity
that shifts our minds away from our usual patterns of
thinking, even away from quite pressurized and
stressful attitudes
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When I Sing 2014
Physical Benefits…
Singing individually and in groups promotes greater
physical fitness, well-being and natural health, by
increasing the amount of oxygen you take into the body
as you take deep breaths.
Singing improves the muscle tone in the larynx and also
helps to calm snoring, which improves sleeping and
counters insomnia, which in turn increases our well-being
and health.
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When I Sing 2014
Physical Benefits…
Improves the muscle tone of your rib cage, and in
your back and abdominals (belly and lower),
because these muscles are involved in controlling
the outflow of air and stabilizing the larynx as you
sing.
Stimulates the thyroid gland, which helps to
balance metabolism.
Singing is a natural pain killer.
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When I Sing 2014
Social Benefits…
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breaks down barriers
embraces, encourages and enables diversity
promotes equality
develops harmonious relationships
promotes denser social and friendship networks
fosters creativity
gets people thinking
builds cooperation and teamwork
improves personal confidence
brings people together, literally
♫ enhances morale
♫ increases participation in social, cultural and
community activities
♫ creates a huge sense of personal and group
achievement
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When I Sing 2014
Spiritual Benefits…
Singing is actually a form of meditation.
When we sing, we shift focus and thinking away from our
usual life happenings and concerns, towards something
'other-worldly'.
Singing is a way of bypassing your ego to acknowledge your
soul.
Singing helps us to 'let go', just as in other forms of
meditation.
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When I Sing 2014
Emotional Benefits…
♫ increased self-confidence, empowerment, wellbeing and interpersonal
skills
♫ can help people come more easily to terms with grieving and loss, and
can help you to accept certain very testing emotions, to sink into them
and know that by surrendering to them, you can free yourself
♫ a general lifting of the spirits and a sense of joy and accomplishment
♫ lowered feelings of social isolation, depression and anxiety
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When I Sing 2014
Emotional Benefits…
Singing can make you cry. Singing can ignite your
passions. And singing can make you laugh.
And if you want more of the stuff that makes you feel
good naturally - the good chemicals we produce in our
bodies when we do good things - you will be
encouraged to know that singing releases natural
opiates, and endorphins
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When I Sing 2014
Building Community
Every person and every establishment
on the planet can gain from the benefits
of singing, whether the people
concerned think they can sing or not.
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When I Sing 2014
The Partners
In May 2013 Nickel City Sound was first invited to
partner with the Human League in a community based
pilot called “When I Sing”.
The aim of the project is to use barbershop singing to
promote wellness, build community connections and
promote choral singing.
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When I Sing 2014
In October 2013, key community
organizations from the Rainbow School
Board and Greater City of Sudbury were
invited to participate in the project.
8 groups have responded!
The WIS Planning Committee was formed with
representatives from these groups.
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In January, February and March 2014 these
small community choruses will participate in
weekly, learning workshops coached by NCS
members and documented on film.
On April 6th the festival will culminate with a
performance that will showcase the choral
groups and NCS at the Sheridan Auditorium.
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90 Community Voices
The City of Greater
Sudbury
♫ Pioneer Manor and Alzheimer’s
Society residents, family and
caregivers : 10
Rainbow School Board
♫ RH Murray PS, Whitefish :10
♫ Nesbitt PS, Sudbury: 23
♫ MSS GR 11 vocal class: 16
♫ Sudbury and District Health
Unit : staff
♫ Monetville PS: 10
♫ Walden PS : 16
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The Next Steps….
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Coaching:
Nickel City Sound will provide the coaching for each
chorus. Wanda Olsen, the director of NCS will work with
volunteer coaches from the chorus to teach the
songs and provide the barbershop music and learning
tools.
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Promotion and Documentation:
Leanne Lavoie of the Human League will
lead tasks related to promotion, resource
development, communications and project
documentation.
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Project and Performance Coordination
The WIS planning committee and volunteers will work with
Judith Duncan to produce the festival events.
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Rehearsals, Singing and Enthusiasm
Representatives the Rainbow School Board and The
Greater City of Sudbury will recruit and support
singers and the choruses and venues.
The community of singers will provide the
enthusiasm.
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Are You Excited Yet?
WE ARE!!!!!
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Resources
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Bailey, B.A. and Davidson, J.W. (2005) Effects of group singing and performance for
marginalized and middle-class singers, Psychology of Music, 33(3), pp. 269-303.
Beck, R.J., Cesario, T.C., Yousefi, A. and Enamoto,H. (2000) Choral singing, performance
perception,and immune system changes in salivary immunoglobulin A and cortisol, Music
Perception,18 (1), pp.87-106.
Clift, S.M. and Hancox, G. (2001) The perceived benefits of singing: findings from preliminary
surveys of a university college choral society, Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion
of Health, 121 (4), pp.248-256.
Cohen, G.D., Perlstein, S., Chapline, J., Kelly, J.,Firth, K.M. and Simmens, S. (2006) The
impact of professionally conducted cultural programs on thephysical health, mental health,
and social functioning of older adults, The Gerontologist
• Heather Gridley, Jill Astbury, Jenny Sharples & Carolina Aguirre 2011, Benefits of
group singing for community mental health and wellbeing, Victorian Health
Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), Carlton, Australia.
• Sidney De Haan Reports: 6 © Sidney De Haan Research
Centre for Arts and HealthAuthors: Stephen Clift, Grenville
Hancox, Ian Morrison, Bärbel Hess, Don Stewart and
Gunter Kreutz Published in 2008 ISBN: 978-1-899253-319
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