Songs for Retirement a success.

The Hamilton Chorale sang four of the six song in the Jubilación Suite: Songs for Retirement at the concert on November 12th and 13th in Hamilton, New Zealand. The choir enjoyed the songs, and gave unsolicited feedback to this effect, which was very satisfying.

The songs can be viewed on Youtube . International viewers have found the lyrics not completely clear, but New Zealanders should find it easier.

I am looking to extend my singing teaching via skype in 2012. This will enable me to travel and help Retirement Villages to set up choirs and get the multiple benefits that this will bring. MY current skype students find it an excellent way of learning singing, with no travel costs or time, or having to be away from children in the evenings and getting a sitter. It is especially good for those away from cities, who would be putting in travel time, and its related costs.

In the meantime I will be working through the process to get The Jubilación Suite published in the USA, and in New Zealand as well.

Spring is bringing more of the work I love.

With the change in the weather, and the oncoming end of year, it is time to be putting things in place for 2012. I have sent feelers out to rural radio stations, and rural education access branches here in New Zealand, and in Australia, for teaching singing to individuals, families, and groups via skype. I have one 'client' where the son has a 10 minute session, the daughter has a 10 minute session and Mum has a 40 minute lesson. They live on a farm, an hour's drive away form their nearest good-sized city. I have a student in Melbourne. He has his lesson at 10a.m. and for me it is midday.

I enrolled a new face-t0-face student this week, a lovely voice, very musical it is going to be such fun working with him. In addition I started the vocal techniques workshop series last night at Waikato University and it was over subscribed, (just by 1), so good for all the participants, as well as financially for me. What a blast! The workshop went very well, so much laughter, so many finding out that those who said they could not sing were wrong!! The workshop was due to finish 8.30, I sent them home at 8.40 and spent the next 15 minutes answering questions. Given that as soon as people sing they feel good, the euphoria was not just because of my teaching and empowering, I know that :-) Nevertheless extremely satisfying!!

Seven of the Hilda Ross Glee Club have expressed a desire to sing in the 8 - 80 concert, and the whole of the Vision Forest Lake Senior singers have done likewise. I have my 80 choir. Two days of auditions at Rotokauri Scholo resulted in 18 singers being selected, but at present it is almost all the young ones; 16 of them are aged 9 or younger, and the school has children up to the age of 12. I am back for a final audition time next Monday, then it will be preparation of music and CDs for them all to work on learning the music. I will be taking singing sessions with the children four or five times before the end of the year, working on vocal technique as well as learning the songs.

It is time to get back onto the retirement village companies about choirs for 2012. Watch this space.

RVA Conference feedback.

Dear Julie

A quick note to thank you very much for your outstanding presentation to our conference last week. The feedback has been universally positive and it seems that people actually enjoyed having a singalong as part of it! I also hope that you will get some new business from the event because, having been part of the Wellington Orpheus for years, there’s no doubt that choirs benefit residents (and everyone).

I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of your presentation please as the technician didn’t actually keep a copy.

Thanks once again for your part in making our event the success it was.

Kind regards

John Collyns
Executive Director
Retirement Villages Association
P O Box 25-022
Panama St
Wellington

An excellent week

On Friday I had my first session with the Senior Singers at Vision Forest Lake. A small group of about 12 were there, with winter illnesses etc keeping some away. I will be working to recruit more singers, especially with the changed rehearsal time from Monday to Friday.

On Thursday I had the first session with the young woman I met in the Uni cafe, it went well, and I will enjoy working with her. I popped into the same cafe two days ago (using up $1 coffee vouchers) and met up with Carl who used to sing in the Tauhara Consort at Tauhara College about 20yrs ago. He is now on the Faculty in Education, and had make murmurs about singing lessons before I left last year. He will start July 1st.

I did some more work this week on sorting out my home studio, and am pleased with how that is going.

But the crowning event for the week was the letter I received this morning. It reads as follows:

Dear Julie
I write to extend our thanks for your enthusiasm, and encouragement in the establishment of our Senior Singers group 18 months ago. From the time of your visit in 2009 the group has grown "like a mushroom", from 8 - 12, to 35 dedicated members (including 4 basses and 3 tenors).

You will be pleased to hear the choir received the Award for Arts and Culture in the Waipa/Trustpower Community Services awards recently, together with a framed certificate and a generous cheque, which has been a lifeline, financially.

There have been great reports of health benefits, particularly of course respiratory problems & memory/concentration enhancement.

We appreciate your participation in the founding of a most enjoyable musical & social activity for older people in our community.

Sincere Regards
Glenys Waterhouse F.T.C.L.
Director
Regards also from Helen Lloyd (piano)

If you click on "St Andrew's Senior Singers" in the labels, you will find out the event to which Glenys refers :-)

A lovely testimonial

I received this email from a member of the Hamilton Chorale this week.

Julie Hi

I would like to thank you for last week’s choir practice. When I arrived I was just so tired, I had had a hectic week with long hours and, at my age (72 years) I was really exhausted. When I arrived home just after 6.00 pm I did not want to go out again. But, if everyone thought that way, there would be no one there and also, I really enjoy singing.

I did not think I would be able to concentrate properly. When I returned to my car after choir practice, I felt on a high! I could have gone on “singing all night”! Thank you, you encourage us and teach us and make choir practice fun! You have given this choir a really lovely “tone” so that people find us easy to listen to and want to hear more. You have such a variety of songs and atmospheres that it is never boring, as can be when some choir sing the same thing for the whole concert.

When I returned home, I did not need a pill to take away my headache, as the headache had gone. The heavy feeling of tiredness over my eyes had gone and I felt invigorated and full of energy.

Julie - thank you

Yvonne G King

I know that singing can have these effects, but it is delightful when the singers discover it for themselves.

8 - 80 Showstoppers Concert a great success!

The concert yesterday afternoon was highly successful on so many levels!!
Both choirs sang well, particularly the Glee Club, who were down to 17 members, with one having to leave before the concert as his wife needed him at home. The sound system make it so much better as well, and the feedback from the audience was astounding!! I had people asking if they could join the Glee Club. The members of the Glee Club had already considered that, and they are very certain that it is their choir, for those who live at the Hilda Ross Village, not for outsiders.

I was in Christchurch with a father in ill-health, and then experienced the earthquake for the 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday, until I returned to Hamilton. It did not stop, and probably still has not stopped. The concert completely lifted my spirits for that hour and still is doing so, the power of music. Photos and video are on their way.

Hilda Ross Glee Club winter concert

Yesterday 30 singers came to rehearse and then put on a 45 minute concert for their friends and family. It was the first time we have had 30 at a concert. Although there are 31 on the roll, there are always people away, on vacation, or at a funeral, or in hospital. This time they were all there which was great!

We were also able to sing some of our songs with parts of the Glee Club, so the men sang a song by themselves, and in another song they sang a verse by themselves. At the beginning of another song How are things in Glocca Morra two of the women sang the first phrase, and two other women sang the second phrase, and then all of the women joined in for the main part of the song; it was lovely.

Once again those listening said that they sounded better than last time, they are going from strength to strength. Their vocal range is increasing, the women can easily sing up to the G an octave and a half above middle c, (but not too often). Some tell me that they mouth when they think it is too high, but invariably they join in when they see the women sitting either side singing the higher notes.

Mike Downey, one of the residents, very kindly took multiple video clips of the concert, which will be used in my presentation to the CEO of Ryman.

Big changes in my life and work

What a difference a month makes.

I am taking voluntary redundancy from my position as senior lecturer here at the University of Waikato, effective from October 15th, which is the last day of the second semester of study. Our music education programme has been overstaffed, and given that I have had passions outside of my university work for some time, this is a good move for me.

I intend to travel at the end of this year, not least to the Sidney de Haan Centre, in Canterbury, England, where there are people with passions like me for the effects of singing on peoples' well-being.

My 2011 will look something like this:
I will take on singing students, who want to take responsibility for their own learning, who I see very two weeks, not weekly.

I will continue to work at Hilda Ross, in addition to completing my research work at Edmond Hillary Complex in Auckland. I will put a proposal to a major provider of retirement complexes, that they can have my exclusive services and programme. My son Matthew, who is an astute businessman, is going to help me with that side of things.

In the meantime, I will be publicising my move, getting the word out so that prospects will know that I am available.

Some have envied me, getting to follow my passion at this time of life. I feel excited about what the future holds. Watch this space :-)

Singing for Continuing Education over 60's group

On Tuesday March 30th I went and took a 1-hr singing session with nearly 300 people in this group. I thought it went well, but asked for some formal feedback from the co-ordinator of the group. This is what Fiona Griffith sent to me:

Amazing ! Thought provoking! Interactive! Stimulating ! Entertaining! These are just a few of the words that spring to mind when reviewing the session “Singing keeps you healthy” lead by Julie Jackson- Gough.
The research was fascinating and with just sufficient background and balance necessary to inform the group of the experts' findings.
There are few sessions that we run where achieve 100% audience participation- however this was one. Julie’s sense of humour and the selection of a few well loved songs ensured that the group left the venue in noticeably high spirits.
The responses, feedback and words of praise to Julie are evidence of how well the lecture was received.
Learning in this session was fun and invigorating especially for the over 60’s group. And not one person fell asleep!

Celebrating Age Singing Group

On September 10th a new singing group will be starting, based at the Celebrating Age Centre on Victoria Street in Hamilton, New Zealand. I cannot tell you what it will be called as the participants will decide that. They will also decide what style of music they will sing, and how they will be accompanied. The only conditions are that they are at least 60 years of age, and that they want to sing, whether they think they can or not. I also hope that the group will take themselves, i.e. leadership will come from within the group. I want to have a mentoring role, and also be able to research the group.

This morning (and yesterday morning) at 7:30 a.m. I met with a group of nearly 30 of our MMP students here at the University (mixed media presentation).(there are 126 in the whole group) They do most of their learning via computer, and are here on campus this week for an arts intensive, with lessons in dance, drama music and visual art for 6 hrs for each Arts discipline. This singing session was added on to an already full programme, but they came!

Last time they were on campus I had some voluntary singing sessions with the whole group, and got the message that some lacked either confidence, or thought that they could not sing. These students, who self-selected, made up this morning group. Do I need to write that of course they can sing, and they did sing, and as a group made a really nice sound. Average age probably late 30s. Two 25-minute sessions will not change decades of lack of self belief in singing ability, but they have started, and they have heard what they can do. It is certain that everybody can sing!! I do not mean singing solos, in the same way that if you can write you don't have to write novels or poems. The new group at Celebrating Age will be founded on that knowledge.

Stephen Clift

I am so excited!!! Stephen Clift, of the De Haan Centre has emailed me, with information about what they are doing, request for my material, and an outline of round table discussions that are being held in October to discuss, on different days, for 3 hrs each:

1. Singing and mental health
2. Singing and chronic lung disease (Elizabeth)
   
3. Singing older people and dementia (some of my Glee Club)
   
4. Singing and Parkinsons disease (Cecelia)
   
5. Singing and the wellbeing of children and young people (My university students)

In brackets are the people in my experience and research that are relevant to the topics.

Various groups that are working in these populations with singing will be attending these round tables, so it will be participants as well as observers and researchers.

The partner organisation that is working with the De Haan centre is:

Sing for your life

who run over 50 Club sessions per month for older people across the South-East of England.
I am no longer alone in my research!!

It is now my intention to work towards having study leave in the second half of 2010 to go and spend that time based at the De Haan Centre, taking part in research, taking part in training, presenting my own research, learning about how to more effectively research and advocate.

It is about 9 months since I started this blog. My eldest son started me on this trajectory, working where my passion was, and I think that this link is the start of the next chapter in my work and my life. Thank you Matthew!!

Sidney de Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health

With some help from colleagues on Friday I found some very exciting new research, and an invaluable document for my work that has been produced by Stephen Clift, Grenville Hancox, Rosalia Staricoff and Christine Whitmore. I first met the names Clift and Hancox through research on self reported effects of singing in a choir with which they were working, see my post Oct 21st 2008. That research was reported in 2001, and the Sidney de Haan Centre was formed at Canterbury Christchurch University in England in 2004. Named after a man who received great personal enjoyment and benefit from music during his latter life, while suffering with vascular dementia. Sidney's son Roger supported Professors Hancox and Clift to set up the new research centre.

The document is entitled Singing and Health: Summary of a systematic Mapping and Review of Non-Clinical Research and can be found at:

Singing and Health Document

Go to this site and download the pdf document.

At the same site you will find another document that will interest singers:

Choral Singing, Wellbeing and Health: A cross-national survey

Thank you to these men, and their colleagues, and the passion that they have had for singing and its benefits!!