Members of Rock Choir, the world's largest contemporary choir come for the music and stay for the mental and physical health benefits. Would The i Paper's classical music critic feel the buzz?
Members of Rock Choir, the world's largest contemporary choir come for the music and stay for the mental and physical health benefits. Would The i Paper's classical music critic feel the buzz?Thursday morning in a church hall in Camberley, Surrey: the local Rock Choir members are taking their passion and making it happen. When I arrive with the organisation’s founder, Caroline Redman Lusher, they are singing “Flashdance”. In multi-part harmony. By heart. In tune. With dance moves.
It took considerable courage to write the book – “it was like reliving it,” she says – but its publication is “another landmark” for her and her devoted “Rockies”. Happily, she now has a four-year-old son. It was the effect of the choir. “I’d had no idea. Now I know the science, but back then I didn’t.” Having seen the impact, she wondered what would happen if she took the idea to the wider community. So Rock Choir was born.. It has been shown to lift mood, reduce anxiety, reduce pain and lower blood pressure and has also been linked to improved lung function, memory and cognition. Many of these benefits are enhanced by singing with others.
Sure enough, Rockies descend from far and wide for mass events at venues like the Wimbledon Theatre, Wembley Arena or, every two years, Birmingham’s NEC , forming one vast choir thousands strong. Sometimes they visit holiday destinations like Blackpool, Scarborough or Edinburgh, where they have a high old time. After the Proms in the Park appearance, the police were surprised to find groups of middle-aged women in black T-shirts with gold stars, “drunk and disorderly” around central London.
Meanwhile, Rock Choir has raised millions for charities including the Mental Health Foundation, Comic Relief and Cash for Kids. Rockies sing at fetes, Christmas markets and care homes; they’ve even flash-mobbed charity dinners. Performing publicly is voluntary, but the experience often bolsters members’ confidence, sometimes to their own surprise.
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