Turn2Me, a national mental health charity, is encouraging the public to sign up to sing in a choir and stated that it can have mental health benefits. The charity listed the many benefits of being in a choir including a strengthened feeling of community, a reduction in stress levels and an improved feeling of social wellbeing.
The charity referenced a study titled ‘It’s better together: The psychological benefits of singing in a choir’ by Nick Stewart and Adam Lonsdale, which compared ‘choral singing to two other relevant leisure activities, solo singing and playing a team sport, using measures of self-reported well-being, entitativity, need fulfilment and motivation.
Questionnaire data from 375 participants indicated that choral singers and team sport players reported significantly higher psychological well-being than solo singers. Choral singers also reported that they considered their choirs to be a more coherent or ‘meaningful’ social group than team sport players considered their teams.’
“Joining a choir can bring a feeling of inclusiveness, collegiality and pride after performing,” Fiona O’Malley, CEO of Turn2Me, said, “It is also a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. Many people struggle making new friends when they finish secondary school or college, because these are environments where we’re forced to spend time with people in our classes, and friendships grow organically. When these social structures are taken away, people can struggle to make new friends.”
Fiona stated that there will be a great concert in aid of Turn2Me with the brilliant Belle Harmonics Pop Rock Choir on September 29 in the Pepper Cannister Church. Doors open at 7pm and the concert starts at 7:30pm.
Belle Harmonics Pop Rock Choir is a dynamic 30-member group that performs songs by artists like Sia, Kate Bush, Beyonce, and Fleetwood Mac. Formed in 2018, Belle Harmonics Pop Rock Choir is already well known to the stages and festivals of Dublin, recently performing to sold-out audiences in the Grand Social and The Sugar Club.
All funds raised will go towards Turn2Me, a national charity that offers people free counselling services.
