MEMBERS of a choir have spoken about how singing helped them through the pandemic, as they get ready to return to normality after 17 months of online rehearsals.
By Jasmine Carey

Choir says singing helped them through the pandemic - and urges others to join

Director of Igloo Music UK, teaching music in the community to enhance quality of life. Musician, film composer, songwriter with focus on bringing people together, giving people memorable experiences, relieving stress and improving wellness. 

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Dielle Hannah

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/210/files/832112cebe9e4433164a4a9611afabb0e84ba5757d2d9aed22103d896bdb7984a3023594740dba88c7bbae67e66773b9a7435ee337a2d77cf721750203d8453c.jpeg"></figure>After much time away from our community choirs, a new group is starting at The Avenue Lawn and Tennis Club in the Havant/ Emsworth area. This is a second group of the fantastic OK Chorale in Fishbourne, directed by John Gleadall. The group recently performed at Concert For The Ukraine at St. Faith’s in Havant, alongside other local artists, helping to raise over £1800.&nbsp; OK Chorale Emsworth is starting on Thursday 12th May and will meet weekly from 1.30-3pm , and will be directed by John’s band mate and local singersongwriter DiElle.&nbsp; Singing has been shown to improve mental wellbeing, has physical benefits, and is a lovely way to socialise.&nbsp; “It really sets you up for the week” says John, whose group meets at The Fishbourne Centre on a Monday.&nbsp; If you fancy giving OK Chorale a go, you can drop in to the The Avenue Lawn and Tennis Club on 12th of May at 1.30pm. Visit the link below for more information.&nbsp; https://www.igloomusic.co.uk/blog/ &nbsp;<blockquote>“John’s musical arrangements are so beautiful” says DiElle “and the aim of the group is simply to enjoy singing together for the pleasure of it, so there’s no need for previous experience or to be able to read music”.</blockquote>

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For the first time since the pandemic began, the Igloo Choir is meeting for a face-to-face taster session in Wickham, Hampshire on Saturday 21st August.The taster session, which is all about attracting new members, is taking place between 2.30 and 3.30pm. Adults interested in joining can come along, meet the group and join in the singing.Social distancing will be practised by all members. Visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.igloomusic.co.uk">www.igloomusic.co.uk</a> to book the free taster and get full event details. Igloo Music founder Dielle Hannah says of the event:<blockquote>We're encouraging anyone from the local community to come along for a sing song and, if they love it, potentially join the Igloo Choir.</blockquote>For Fareham-based choir member, Hayley Durrant, the Igloo Choir “helped to keep a sense of normality and keep us all together” during the past 18 months, albeit primarily online. She adds: “I’m not sure how I would have survived lockdown without singing.” It has been Igloo Music’s mission since 2009 to teach music to enhance quality of life, and 2020 and 2021 have certainly given the members the opportunity to rise to that challenge.&nbsp;“Igloo is a wonderful family to share our love of music with”, says choir member Carolyn Stallard from Hayling Island.<blockquote>Igloo is a wonderful family to share our love of music with.</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/210/images/b0c2d118d11245207330c6e4bb2fe773fd3c2579de0ce3d161bca4ebf1ffdb6c97685069d572a7b6df1265eba96bebaca05b745cc9839404c3334ce1efbbf042.jpeg"><figcaption>Members of the Igloo Choir</figcaption></figure>

Igloo Choir to meet face-to-face for first time - new members welcome 

Poor mental health in now more understood in the mainstream than ever before it would seem, and this Mental Health Awareness Week should apply to us all. Those who got through 2020 without mood swings, social isolation, stress or low mood are few and far between.&nbsp; It is well documented that singing can raise happy hormones, reduce stress &amp; social isolation and improve blood pressure. You can get all of these benefits regardless of how good you are at singing. Social isolation contributes to poor mental health. Listening to music, playing music and singing together with others - whether in person or online - helps to combat social isolation. Find a local group and join in. We have a mid week online stress busting singalong at Igloo Music UK, but there are groups up and down the country offering the same wellness benefits disguised as music groups.&nbsp; I believe the arts are going to be integral to our collective recovery from this trauma, and you can get your dose from your local music groups.&nbsp; #mentalhealthawarenessweek &nbsp;<blockquote>I believe the arts are going to be integral to our collective recovery from this trauma, and you can get your dose from your local music groups. #mentalhealthawarenessweek</blockquote>

Sing to reduce stress and isolation

Singing is so good for you, it's easy to get started and there are so many benefits for our physical and mental health. Sue describes her experience taking up singing after suffering long covid.&nbsp; "I was very anxious when I came along to session one as I had never sung before. I have extreme anxiety – meaning I live my life very silenced, along with bipolar, autism, fibromyalgia, and long covid, so I wasn’t sure that I would even be able to speak let alone sing. The tutor, Dielle, was so welcoming and friendly that I felt safe within a few minutes, and was able to relax because she seemed genuinely interested in who I was and why I had come along to the group. The session felt organised and structured and that meant I felt comfortable and trusting. I was able to speak without having to fight to talk over others, I was also encouraged to do exactly as I needed to, even if that meant yawning. It meant that, when I experienced fatigue, I could stay sat down. The other group members were lovely and many of them shared that, they too, felt anxious and it helped me a lot to not feel on my own. Di introduced things in a step by step way and I was never put on the spot.....we very gradually ‘grew’ into using the right posture, and starting to let sound flow out through being encouraged to connect with our bodies. In the online group, I attended, we all sang on mute. By the end of the first session I was sitting better, I had squeaked like a mouse, barked like a dog and, amazingly, sung a whole song, due to gentle, supported guidance done in a safe space whilst being able to relax and laugh. Over all, for me, these three weeks were an incredible experience - I may not yet be an expert singer but I have freed my voice. The impact of that, not just for making music, is that, in my wider life, my speaking voice is unblocked. I would recommend this to everyone...and I have. I attended the second set of beginners singing sessions with Igloo Music, which were led by Dielle. These sessions led on from the first set of three so I felt that I was able to build on the skills I had learnt previously – that singing is like ‘sighing out’, a wonderful free release of sound, and no forcing needed. That my singing ‘muscles’ will strengthen and stretch as I use them, enabling me to reach more range in notes and roundness of sound. I felt comfortable, and safe, in the group as the people I was with on the previous course had all decided to carry on – what an amazing testimony to how good these sessions are. These next three sessions focused on how to breathe for singing and how to extend, deepen and control my breathing to be able to use it as I need. Whilst doing wonderful breathing exercises that also felt like ‘purposeful’ meditations, I felt the stresses of my day fade away. I’m living with complex health conditions that cause me a lot of pain, and the sessions, with the breathing, companionship of warm, friendly people, the focus of learning something new and the release of singing, all provided me with the most incredible respite from worry, concern and pain. Dielle was fabulous, just as she was in the previous course. During one session I was experiencing an episode of excruciating pain and she was kind and responsive in encouraging me to do what I needed to in order to look after myself. With her support, I was able to stay in the group that week. At the end of the first and second beginner courses – 6 weeks in total, I am hooked. I’ve already noticed changes in my voice and breathing. I have felt less fearful and more confident, and have been practising in the house when my family are in (and awake) and I definitely want to continue. I highly recommend Dielle, and Igloo Music, they are wonderful and empowering. I am really enjoying my sessions with them." Sue &nbsp;<blockquote>I am hooked. I’ve already noticed changes in my voice and breathing. I have felt less fearful and more confident</blockquote>

Singing helped me a lot to not feel on my own

This year, St. Nicholas Church in Wickham is 900 years old. The many celebrations have been put on ice until it’s safe to celebrate. This 900th birthday coincided with local group Igloo Music UK celebrating their 10th birthday. Igloo brings adult learners together to learn and enjoy participating in making music and part of that group is The Igloo Choir. Most members are novices when they join, but all members participate in the writing, performing and recording of original songs – a unique experience for a community choir member. The birthdays inspired the choir to write a song about the church bells, and with the help of lovely local community members, in February 2020 choir members attended a bell ringing rehearsal, which has become the highlight of our year. Everyone was encouraged to have a go at ringing one of the six bells, learned some basics (and how hard it is!) and some of the basic peals. Plan A was to perform the song at the Igloo Birthday showcase in April, which of course did not happen. “Recording the song became the Igloo Choir’s lockdown project, followed by the idea to make a video, once we realised we could record zoom sessions!” says Dielle Hannah, singersongwriter and choir director. Choir members learned to record themselves at home and email in the sound files, which were then used to produce the song at Igloo Studios, by professional bass player and music producer Chris Wood. All being novices at the technology, rehearsals became a steep learning curve about green screen functions, virtual backgrounds, how that differed from device to device, and so on. Then came the costume changes, complete with one of the choir members getting her wedding dress down from the loft for one of the verses! This was not intended to be a Christmas song, but it seems to have hit a seasonal note with those who have heard it so far. With members from Wickham, Gosport, Havant, Hayling and Portchester, The Igloo Choir sorely miss not being able to meet and sing together – that thing that gives us the greatest joy, but having this focus has been ‘such a fun and lovely project to be a part of’ as Igloo alto Kate Stainton-Ellis says. The choir are thrilled to have this to show for our time together during the pandemic, and still wish to mark the 900th year of the local history and heritage, St. Nicholas. The Igloo Choir are hugely grateful to the local bell ringing team who gave them so much fun and inspiration, and hope the video puts a smile on your face. The bells may have been silenced for parts of this year, but you can still listen to the peals here. &nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>“Recording the song became the Igloo Choir’s lockdown project, followed by the idea to make a video, once we realised we could record zoom sessions!” says Dielle Hannah, singersongwriter and choir director.</blockquote>

Local Choir Keeps Bells Ringing During Lockdown

Director of Igloo Music UK, teaching music in the community to enhance quality of life. Musician, film composer, songwriter with focus on bringing people together, giving people memorable experiences, relieving stress and improving wellness.

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