practical living
hard to actually get them to really mean it,
when you sing those words, to sound like
you actually believe these words and you’re
singing from your heart. But this choir, it’s
never a problem. Straight away, they always
sing from their heart, there’s always such a
spirit to it – it’s like all those words have life.”
Creativity Australia’s programs manager
Nathan Lange lists the benefits aged care
residents, especially those with dementia,
gain from singing in a group, and he credits
Benetas St George’s with implementing the
choir. I ask why this isn’t done everywhere.
“The blunt truth is that cost is often the
barrier,” he says.
“We pay Kym exactly what he’s worth.
So, there are base costs to running a choir
over 45 weeks of a year. It’s actually more
than $10,000 a year to run the choir.
“The new aged care standards have just
come out, and we’re kind of encouraging
a lot of facilities with the capacity to revisit
how they’re going to meet all those targets.
And running a choir, there’s lots of boxes
you tick really easily.”
Singing in a group has more benefits
than singing alone. Research from Oxford
University has found that compared to
individuals participating in craft or creative
writing classes, singers experience a greater
increase in self‑reported closeness to their
group, while group singing bonds people
together more quickly than other activities.
Amazingly, choral singers have also been
found to sync heartbeats.
Carol Digna, community coordinator
of residential care at Benetas St George’s,
says the choir is the best activity they have
offered, and the after-effects for residents
are priceless.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” she says.
“We have residents who are members of
the choir and participate in the singing part
of it. But it also becomes a show for other
residents who choose not be in the choir but
like to come and listen.”
Carol says morale is boosted at the home
after the choir comes around. And the
more direct the participation, the better the
outcomes. Carol also loves that community
choir members dedicate their time to
the residents.
“I cannot say enough about our choir. It’s
so well attended, overtly and passively. I’ve
got one resident who doesn’t want to come
out of her room for anything else but the
choir, and she cracks it if we don’t get her
there!” she laughs.
De Jong spoke at a TEDx event about
the benefits of singing. She told the crowd
that Creativity Australia deliberately brings
together the most diverse people possible to
experience the benefits music can give.
“CEOs, doctors, lawyers, grandmothers
with students, people with depression,
disabilities, migrants and job seekers.
Aged from nine to 90, of all faiths and all
backgrounds,” she said.
“Most of the people come along saying
they can’t sing. We help them find not
only their voice and their singing voice,
but their voice in life: their meaning and
their purpose.”
For more on Creativity Australia‘s choir
programs, visit creativityaustralia.org.au. ■
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