Singing for wellbeing
“I can’t express enough how grateful I am to the choir for their support each week with my mum. With her dementia, much of who we know as our mum has been lost, but hearing her speak about choir when I call and listening to recordings that I have been sent of the group is just wonderful – it’s like knowing she is still there.”
Born in the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 global pandemic, Choirs For Good was set up by a group of like-minded choir leaders who wanted to use the power of choirs and group singing to connect and empower people and communities.
They were awarded a grant from Fund for Wales to cover the cost of musical equipment to open a face-to-face choir in Bridgend.
Since being established, the choir has grown in confidence and experience. The project has helped individuals to recover from the isolating effects of the covid pandemic and provided a safe environment where people have felt able to return to a level of normality after what has been a difficult time.
Chorister J.J. said:
“I was scared to come along to choir with everything that has happened as I have had cancer twice and am immunosuppressed, but I am so glad that I did. It has really given me a reason to get out of the house and something to look forward to every week.”
Claire, daughter of chorister Val, said:
“For me the choir has transformed mum’s life and that of her close family. It has built up her confidence, post pandemic, to go out again, both to the choir and with us for meals and trips. She comes alive when we visit and when we ask Alexa to play the various songs that she sings in choir, we can hear her voice soaring with joy as she joins in.
I know she has something to look forward to every week and to dress up for. The singing keeps her brain active and mixing with other people ensures she keeps those skills alive, which becomes all the more challenging as her memory continues to deteriorate.
The project brings immeasurably help and pleasure to mum and I have no doubt continues to enable her to manage her dementia and live independently, hopefully for a long time to come.”
