Gerontology and Singing

A new year, and much to report.

2012-01-04T10:06:00.006+13:00

I have just received an email from Jeanne Kelly of the Encore Chorale organisation, asking for my six songs, and offering to send a cheque straight away. How exciting is that!! Now to check them all very carefully, and make sure that they are good publishable state, and then send them off. The titles are:
1. No more meetings
2. We're SKI-ing (spending the kid's inheritance)
3. Shh it's a secret
4. Grey Nomads
5. The revenge of the grandchildren
6. The Bucket list

I have decided to sell them at $1 per copy and $5 for the set of six. The theory is: if the price is good, then it does not pay to 'not' pay :-)

The local Home School Choir has asked me to work with them during the first term on singing technique, so I will be starting that on February 7th and will enjoy working with those interesting young people.

My advertising in Facebook has been incredible. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to reach a wide audience. I am advertising for people to learn singing via Skype. My advert has appeared on Facebook pages in New Zealand an Australia over 100,000 times, but I do not pay unless someone clicks on the link, and the charge for that is between 20c and 35c. Since mid November, when the adverts first went up I have paid less than 1 hrs tuition fee, and it has resulted in one student thus far. I need to work more on what they see when they get to my website.

Backing tracks for the 12 songs for the 8 - 80 concert (that is happening on February 24th at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival) are my main project for the next few weeks. It is the most challenging use of Garageband that I have done so far, but each one will get easier, as I get better at selecting and editing the samples.

I am excited about the year and what it is going to bring.

Songs for Retirement a success.

2011-11-29T10:52:00.003+13:00

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.

Tuesday November 8th

2011-11-08T10:40:00.003+13:00

My days are filling up.
On Thursday October 27th I started a 7-week singing workshop, through Continuing Education at The University of Waikato, using my old classroom. It is the first workshop I have run since 2005, prior to which I ran them annually. The demand disappeared, but this workshop series came because of requests to work with me, which is pleasing. Now a workshop is being planned for Tauranga, at the beginning of 2012

At the second workshop last week, I had one of those events which I value greatly, because of its effect. One of the women hardly sang. At the end of session, I asked her to stay, she said it wasn't important, I told her it was why I was here, and because she had enrolled in the w'shop it WAS important. Once again, a thoughtless teacher, decades ago told her that she couldn't sing. I showed her what she could do, and gave her the exercise to 'exorcize' that strong memory. The exercise is to sing 'you were wrong, you stole my voice, and now I am taking it back', to any made-up tune. I did this with her, and she sang more and more strongly back to me.

The Hamilton Chorale are enjoying the songs that I have composed which they are singing. Unsolicited comments in Facebook include: "I really like your compositions for our Hamilton Chorale to sing in these upcoming concerts. I am enjoying practising them at home.", "I am enjoying them too - the tunes keep going round and round in my head when I am not thinking about them!" I played them to my 32-yr-old son and he laughed, said he was surprised at the content, but loved it. Tomorrow night I will ask the choir for permission to video the Sunday performance of the pieces, so that I can post them on Youtube, and then sent the site to my USA contacts.

I have a contact who is going to take my skype singing proposal to the national managers meeting for REAP. Barry was a co-teacher with me at Tauhara College (1985 - 1992), so he can also speak personally about me, and my teaching and musicality.

This week I will finalise all of the music for the 8 - 80 concert for the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival 2012. I have auditioned, and had the first rehearsal with the children. Today I will finish recording the songs for the '80' singers to have on c.d. to practice, and tomorrow I should receive the disc for the children's songs, and will do the same for them. Today and also tomorrow I want also to sort out who sings what in the combined songs and get that into a score for both of the groups.

When I want a break from that, I will record some backing tracks for my skype students (from last night's teaching) to practice along to :-)

Spring is bringing more of the work I love.

2011-10-28T09:41:00.003+13:00

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.

Great Resolution to the problem

2011-10-15T18:20:00.003+13:00

Having prayed about it, I let God guide my mind and actions, and felt at peace completely during last Thursday's regular rehearsal time with the Hilda Ross Glee Club

Because some of the singers arrive late, for many reason I though it unwise to discuss at the beginning, and so we sang for about 15 minutes, which by the very nature of singing put every one in a positive place.

I then told them that I accepted their decision, but the consequence was that the Hilda Ross Glee Club would not be the '80' choir. However any of those in the Glee Club who wanted could join the choir that I would be putting together to sing the songs. The general response was that they thought that might be the case, so it was not unexpected.

However the next part of the discussion went far better than I thought it would. The question was "does that mean the end of Glee Club?" and the response was that everyone wanted to continue. Furthermore the Festival choir will rehearse outside of Glee Club time, so it is business as usual, and I left with three songs that they have selected to add to their repertoire.

On Friday (the next day) I saw the Vision Forest Lake Singers and told them that they would be invited to join the '80' choir, and I may well have enough singers from these two village choirs to make up the festival choir. I am praising God for good resolution to what was a very vexing situation.

October 12th

2011-10-12T12:22:00.003+13:00

The choir has received my letter, and the feedback is that their decision has not changed. I am looking for the wisdom of Solomon on this one.
Options, as I see it:

Find a new theme for the concert and risk them rejecting that repertoire as well, now that they have been empowered to.
Give all future selection of repertoire over to Glee Club, to source for themselves.
Invite those who will sing the repertoire to join singers from the other two choirs with whom I work, to form the 80 choir (of the 8 - 80 ensemble)
Pass on the whole task to one of the other choirs.

The contract is to be signed today for the concert, and it is 4 1/2 months away, so there is time to do any of the above.

I audition the children of the '8' choir during the first week back on the Tuesday and Wednesday, and have the first rehearsal with them on the Friday of that week.

On a much brighter note, I have completed four of the compositions that I plan to write, and they are in the hands of the Hamilton Chorale to be sung at the concerts the weekend of Nov 12/13. They are reasonably simple songs, written for people aged 70 plus to be able to sing in parts. I will get feedback from the Chorale on how they enjoy (or don't) singing them, and send that along with the final editing of the compositions.

Lots going on: a singing student via skype in Melbourne has just joined my studio, and I am running singing workshops for 8 weeks for Waikato University Continuing Education also during the fourth term.

October 3rd, watch this space!

2011-10-03T15:29:00.004+13:00

So much changes and so much stays the same.
I have lost a number of singing students, all for valid reasons, the latest because he got into the rowing team, which practices every afternoon, so no time to practice or for lessons, others for family reasons, and so on.
However in the last two days I have had four potential students contact me so that is very encouraging.

I have a choir in revolt, which I have never experienced before, so am needing the wisdom of Solomon to resolve this situation. The 8 - 80 choir has been accepted for the programme of the Hamilton Gardens Summer Arts Festival 2o13, with a theme of 'Our Music'. My thoughts, as concert planner, was to use some of the best Music Hall songs for the Glee Club, and songs from Kiwi Kids Songs for the children, and songs in an as yet undecided style for their combined songs. I gave a copy of the index of the Music Hall Songs to the Glee Club, and they have decided that they are old songs, and they do not want to sing old songs. No doubt many conversations occurred, and I have even had a long letter, nicely written about how much I am appreciated, but how much they do NOT want to sing these songs. This was before they even got to look at the selection.

I have decided to write an open letter in response to them. I missed last week's rehearsal, where no doubt more discussion occurred, and will miss this week's as well with out-of-town responsibilties. A good chat with my business manager this morning helped me clarify what I need to say to them, and possible ways forward. I will let you know what happens. :-)

More progress on The Silver Sing

2011-08-23T14:33:00.006+12:00

I was in Wellington for the New Zealand Chorale Federation executive meeting. I attended Wellington Anglican Cathedral in the morning, and who should be leading the intercessory prayer, but John Collyns, the CEO of the Retirement Villages Association. Calling him was on my plan for the beginning of this week, but this meeting was indeed fortuitous as we discussed the concept which I was developing for bringing together senior choirs in a festival. John and his team had discussed this some time ago, and were waiting for a catalyst to get it going. I am the catalyst. (This is my summary of the discussion :-))

I was able to take this concept to the NZCF meeting. The reason for naming it the Silver Sing is that the New Zealand Chorale Federation run an annual: Kid's Sing, (for primary and intermediate school children), the Big Sing (for secondary school choirs) the Classic Sing (for community choirs) and the Silver Sing fits that well-accepted set of festivals.

The plan is to formulate the festival through this year, including :

supporting existing choirs, and starting new ones, in villages.
getting information out to community choirs who have a preponderance of retired people as members.
working out the relationships between the RVA, NZCF, and Harmonic Health.
Deciding the parameters of the choir membership that will qualify them to sing in the Silver Sing (age range, average age, minimum/maximum number of singers, etc)

The current plan is for the festival to happen in Spring 2013

It is going to be an exciting time, which will naturally enhance my opportunity to see my passion come to fruition: to see more and more high quality outcome choirs established in villages throughout New Zealand, and then further abroad!

8 - 80 Concert is on for 2012!!

2011-08-17T12:16:00.003+12:00

It is now a fixture for the Hamilton Gardens Summer Arts festival. For the third year in a row, the 8 - 80 choirs will be performing. I have just sent a proposal to the Rotokauri School. Given my new status as self-employed, costs will need to be covered, so it will be interesting to see how they respond.

I intend to audition singers, and give them CDs and music to learn songs independently, before rehearsing every two weeks during the 4th term for 1 hr after school.

The Hilda Ross Glee Club are not yet aware of the approval for the concert, I will talk with them about that this coming week.

It is very exciting and also quite daunting as it involves a lot of work, but it is what I love doing, and showcases the amazing outcomes that are possible for both the children and the seniors

Wonderful Concerts

2011-08-17T10:41:00.003+12:00

August 6th and 7th were the latest concert series for the Hamilton Chorale, of whom I am the musical director and conductor. Once again the choir rose to the occasion. Great tone, variety of styles, animated faces, clear words, very entertaining. Our guests were the Mighty River Harmony, the barbershop chorus who are going to compete in Brisbane in September. On Saturday we had the whole chorus, on Sunday what they call a 'large quintet' being 15 singers on the four parts. Entertaining indeed, with an age range of 69 years. However I was able to report that we had an age range of 74 years. Young Sam, who is 10 yrs old had been attending rehearsal with his mother, and when invited to sing along he readily said yes, and was singing the second soprano part with his mother. Ken, one of our Tenors turned '21 for the fourth time' earlier this year, and there are at least four other octogenarians in the choir. I cannot be sure, as singing helps to keep people alert and there may be some who are chronologically older than I think.

For an un-auditioned choir they are exceptional; they work hard, they are very responsive and willing to learn. They bring much pleasure: to each other, to the audiences and to me.

Commercially Sensitive

2011-06-25T11:15:00.003+12:00

I enjoyed writing that post title, as I am now in serious negotiations with a company.

Initial meeting was to occur at the RVA conference, but that ended up not being possible.

Meeting was set up for 3.45 yesterday (Friday June 24th), but by 4.30 and no-show, and with guidance from my business wise, and savvy, business manager, I 'pursued' my appointment eventually to the Hamilton airport, and had a very productive 30 minutes.

Thanks again to my business manager's direction, Matt Jackson I had a lot of paperwork already prepared, so talked generally, and left him all the paperwork to peruse, either on the plane or back at his home base. Having missed my presentation at the RVA conference, I had it on my memory stick on my keyring, and it was downloaded to his computer to view, complete with all video.

I look forward to the ongoing dialogue. Life is good :-)

RVA Conference feedback.

2011-06-25T11:14:00.000+12:00

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

The RVA Conference, June 13 - 15, Langham Hotel.

2011-06-25T10:53:00.003+12:00

I drove to Auckland to arrive, after the rush-hour, on Tuesday, Some excellent presentations:

1. The National Bank chief economist, who was able to paint a picture of slow improvement, such as the fact that external debt has dropped from 92% of GDP to 80%.

2.from Colin James, and very astute political commentator who has called 13 of the last 14 general election party results correctly. He was not wiling to call this weekend's Te Tai Tokerau election.

3. Diana Crossan the Retirement commissioner, who became somewhat controversial with the presentation of a research report that was plainly flawed, as evidenced by the president of the Retirement Villages association, after Diana's presentation.

4.Cam Ansell, from the Australian RVA association. New Zealand is much lest regulated that Australia.Proportion of people in retirement villages in Australia=5% in the USA=12%

Cam also introduced the U-bend of happiness which is an interesting read, as this re-enforced the presentation I missed first thing on Tuesday, where the speaker was talking about the fact that the only thing that matters is how happy people are.

Wednesday started with a gifted speaker
1. Amanda Stevens talking about marketing to women. An entertaining and very informative presentation, I would be happy to hear her speak again.
2. Jeremy Simpson on investing in retirement living. His bottom line was that people are prepared to pay for quality.

My presentation @ 2.30p.m. followed on from some rather dry presentations and went as well as I could possibly have expected. In addition to getting all of my material across, including video of participants' comments, and video of the Hilda Ross Glee Club's performance level from initial standard in 2006, to the 8 - 80 showstoppers concert in February this year. I concluded with getting them all to stand and sing, and the feedback given via conference feedback was that they enjoyed the chance to sing!!

My next post will be John Collyns feedback email to me. It was a MOST worthwhile event for me!

Friday June 10th

2011-06-10T13:15:00.004+12:00

Excellent session this morning with the Vision Forest Lake group, nearly 20 of them this morning. We are planning a concert for August 19th at 4.30, to which both village residents and members of the public will be invited.
I am excited about this group, because they are already singing in parts as they choose, and in a small part of improvisation today, some were able to harmonise very nicely. There were five good male singers as well, I am not sure what the total is as it was only my second session with them.
They are eminently teachable, and today we talked about posture and how it improves breathing, and sense of well-being, along with singing on vowels and not rushing to the end consonant.
They will definitely be the choir on which I will be able to trial and record some of my compositions, and now that I have a group to focus on the composing will move on quite considerably. The recordings and scores will then be on their way to Roy Ernst in the New Horizons organisation, who told me that there were no compositions for this era of choral singers.

An excellent week

2011-06-04T14:18:00.005+12:00

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 :-)

Business is Growing

2011-05-23T14:18:00.002+12:00

Last week I met with the leaders of the Senior Singers at the Vision Forest Lake retirement village, and I will be taking over the musical directions of this ensemble at the beginning of June. This will be exciting, as they will be able to be the trial group for the compositions that I want to write for publication via the New Horizons network in the USA. Already in this group the members enjoy singing in parts, so the music can be a little challenging, as well as being entertaining and enjoyable.

On June 13th I am presenting at the Retirement Villages Association Annual Conference, to 150 - 200 village owners, managers, and developers. My business manager will be there with me, and I will be able to take evidence from both of my New Zealand village based choirs, as well as evidence gathered from my time in the USA and in England.

Last week I took on another singing student (actually two sister, 10 & 13, who are coming for lessons together) and today I met up, by pure chance with another potential new singing student.

A new branch to my business

2011-04-17T13:32:00.002+12:00

The use of the speaking voice, and "affect display" (what you look like, face and posture) were the focus of a two-lecture series that I gave to 4th yr engineering students last week at the University of Waikato. This was at the invitation of the Dean, Professor Janis Swan, subsequent to the presentation I gave on this topic at a Women in Leadership day just a few weeks before I left the University last October. Informal feedback on the interactive lectures has been positive, but I came to post here because I recevied this interesting information in an email this morning, which emphasises why this work is important for anybody who is going to be presenting and wants to be seen and heard as the best authentic self that they can be.

Back in the 1970s, Psychologist Albert Mehrabian discovered that there were three ways that listeners measured communication from others - words, voice and nonverbal behaviour (affect display).
He updated this in the 1980s to the following equation:
Total Liking =
7% Verbal Liking +
38% Vocal Liking +
55% Facial Liking

Or to put it another way, the content of your communication is only 7% of what you communicate!!!

A lovely testimonial

2011-03-21T15:26:00.003+13:00

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 videos now on Youtube!!

2011-03-15T15:55:00.004+13:00

After quite a process, I have posted the songs to Youtube, and you can access them by clicking on this link

8 - 80 Videos

If your internet connection is slow, then let the clip download before you play it. I recommend the first song, and 'I'd do anything' sung to each other by the children and the women of the Glee Club.

Few of the songs are complete, I edited out the people who walked in front of the camera, and the section where a child at the feet of the person videoing, became voluble :-)

8 - 80 Showstoppers Concert a great success!

2011-02-26T10:35:00.004+13:00

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.

Happy New Year

2011-01-16T16:10:00.003+13:00

I am back in New Zealand after a most amazing time, 3,128 photographs, 19 flights, assorted train trips, many many new friends met along the way, incredible church services in languages that I could not understand, and now a week of recovery and unpacking, and planning.

Congratuations to the Hilda Ross Glee Club who did so well practicing in my absence, special thanks to Ngairi Fraser and Elizabeth Carlisle who did an amazing job of co-ordinating the rehearsals.

Projects now are:
The 8 - 80 Show Stopper Concert on Friday February 25th at 4:00p.m. in the Pavilion as part of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival This will involve separate, and combined rehearsals with the Rotokauri Tuis, when schools go back at the beginning of February.

Contacting my singing students to get lesson times planned.

New repertoire for the Hamilton Chorale to work on when choir starts again in February.

Ongoing negotiations with a major provider to run a 3-mth trial to show outcomes, which then leads on to a firm contract.

Getting in touch with the local newspaper health reporter, to talk about my new work.

Composing some songs for retirement choirs to sing. Roy Ernst of the New Horizons Organisation suggested this gap in the repertoire, and it would be good to get back to composing, which I have not had time for in my last position.

As I told my grand-daughter, I have now left school, after 51 years!!

November 28th from Rome, Italy

2010-11-29T00:38:00.002+13:00

It seems that such a lot has happened, in such a short time!! After seven farewell events in my final week at Waikato University (which was somewhat humbling), I left New Zealand on October 16th.

During the two and a half weeks that I was in the United States I visited two choirs from the New Horizons organisation: Paul Bruggemeier conducts the women's choir that rehearses at the Holy Cross Music Centre in Spokane, Washington State. This was such a fun visit, as the women were so welcoming and Paul and his wife Sue are docents at the Davenport Hotel In Spokane which is the most amazing place. Do visit the site if you are interested in beautiful buildings that have been lovingly restored at any expense. The choir is aged from later 50s to one member who was turning 90 the day after the rehearsal!

I returned to Seattle from Spokane, for my niece's wedding, and then flew to Washington DC and met up with Jeanne Kelly who runs the Encore Chorales which are nine choirs based around the Washington DC area. She is very busy with these choirs, including taking them en masse to the Kennedy Performing Arts Centre annually, for a concert. I sent her a thank you email after the visit, which included the following : I envy you the population to draw on for your chorales, but not the rush-hour traffic that goes with it :-) Jeanne spends up to 20 hrs a week driving from chorale to chorale, for rehearsals.

I have continued on my trip around the world, and am seeing and hearing such amazing things, including going to church in Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral.

The Hilda Ross Glee Club have the repertoire for our Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival concert on c.d. to learn while I am away, and I wil be back with them mid-January, and with the children early February, to put that concert together, and to enjoy some summer as well!!

More progress

2010-10-07T16:57:00.003+13:00

My website is almost ready to go public. Note to others who decide to try and design their own web-page for the first time: How much is your time worth, and how much are you prepared to waste before asking for help????

I have a colleague who is a musician (we have played duo and dueling pianos together, on a number of occasions) who is also a web designer and he has done an excellent job for a very reasonable price. Tozan Delman is someone I would be very happy to recommend for this task.

My webpage address is http://www.harmonichealth.co.nz and there you will be able to see about my company, about what I am offering, plus a link back to here to get updates on my activities.

I have a phone conference planned for next Tuesday with a retirement provider. Watch this space.....

On a more personal note, I have seven farewells planned for next week.

My family are coming for the weekend from Auckland and New Plymouth to say goodbye
My Arts colleagues here at the Faculty of Education, Waikato University are taking me out to lunch Monday
My church homegroup is taking me out to dinner Tuesday night.
I present my final performance at 12@12 Wednesday midday to colleagues and students
My Faculty formal farewell is Wednesday afternoon 4:30
The Hilda Ross Glee Club are taking me out for coffee after our final rehearsal next Thursday
My final class next Friday are giving me a poroporoaki (formal farewell).

There is a bit of a sense of attending my own funeral. Why do we not say these things to each other at normal times, instead of waiting for special occasions??

The young@heart choir is coming to New Zealand!!

2010-09-20T08:02:00.004+12:00

I opened up my Sunday Herald newspaper and this page jumped out at me!! How exciting and how frustrating because I won't be here! This choir is the epitome of how effective a singing programme can be for enhancing and enriching people's lives. The performances, the brain stimulation of learning and remembering words, the euphoria of going onto that stage, the camaraderie, the life experience of going places they would not go by themselves, the unity of purpose, the inevitable losses that come with working with people at the latter stages of their lives, and the emotional journeys that these engender. Such big experiences, such empowering life experiences. Congratulations to the Summerset company for taking this initiative

Women in Leadership presentation

2010-09-08T09:32:00.004+12:00

I was invited to be a keynote speaker at a recent day-conference here at the University of Waikato. The topic for the conference was "Finding your voice".

I think that there was an expectation that I would give them a good singing session, to fire off the endorphins and give them a light vocal exercise to start the afternoon session. However I valued the opportunity too much to just do that, and talked about the use of voice and what effect it has on how we are perceived. I illustrated, gave them exercises to do, did some singing (good speaking voices use the resonation that is used in singing) and took questions. Along the way much laughter, especially at some of my demonstrations. This is strategic, learning is significantly more effective, when people are having fun. I left promptly to go and take a singing session with the Rest Home at Hilda Ross, and then returned to the conference.

Margaret Wilson (ex politician, and now law professor here at Waikato University) chaired the session, and shared stories of how she used her voice when speaker of the house, to keep order. In summing up at the end of the day, she enlarged on that, re-enforcing all that I had said and done. At the post conference drinks time there were many people who wanted to talk to me about working with them, their team etc. I have subsequently had an email from an Associate Dean to come and talk with engineering students about use of voice. Unfortunately I am not available any of the times mentioned, but this is a whole new area where I have future possibilities.

So many opportunities

2010-09-02T09:07:00.004+12:00

I am now in negotiations with two retirement providers. I spoke with 60 final year MMP students (teacher trainees who do most of their study via the computer, but come on campus for block courses) yesterday about being available for: singing lessons, help with school choir, help with use of voice as teacher, face-to-face and via skype. I enjoyed socialising with them last night at the Sahara Tent, and had good conversations with interested students. My list of singing students for next year grows each month.

Today I go to speak at a Women in Leadership conference being held here at the University of Waikato. The Hilda Ross Glee Club is going to come and entertain at lunchtime, and then I am going to talk to the conference about use of voice, and I am sure the same things will come up with them as came up with the trainee teachers; how to preserve your voice, sound authoritative, affect display, and of course we will do some singing, because it will make them feeel good, and help them to remember my messages.

I am also going to talk with the professional studies people here in the Faculty of Education about me coming and guesting in one of the years of the student teacher's study, to give them these messages sooner. Anectodally, and from my own experience, so many of them do not understand how they sound, and how they can sound better, more effective, and be more aware of the tool that their use of voice is in the classroom.

I got the scholarship!!!

2010-08-26T10:07:00.002+12:00

I have just received an email from Professor Roy Ernst telling me that I have been awarded one of the five US$2000 scholarships to visit New Horizons groups in the United States. I am very excited about this, more for the opportunity to link in with an organisation that is working in the same area, music with retired people to enrich their lives, but also for the money that will make my USA travel more comfortable.

It will certainly make my time in the USA more structured, but that is going to be great!
I will add to this post when I know more about my plans....

The end of my time at Waikato University is coming on fast

2010-08-22T17:13:00.005+12:00

With just 8 weeks to go until I finish at the University of Waikato Faculty of Education, the end is in sight. My last day is October 15th and I leave New Zealand on October 16th, returning January 11th. Paperwork is out to two CEOs of retirement village providers, and phone calls and face-to-face meetings are anticipated in the next four weeks. I have a delightful young family who will be house sitting for me (and my cat), which is answered prayer as much for them as it is for me.

It is almost like attending one's own funeral at the University at present, with peers and students telling me what they think and what they will miss. I set up this time away from the Hamilton Chorale at the beginning of last year. They have told me not to find a nice man o'seas and not return. My response has been that the four grandchildren in this part of the world is a stronger pull than them.

I have nine singing students for next year, aiming for a total of twenty for February. I have twenty students from the current first-year teaching training group who want lessons now, so they will happen before the end of the semester, in groups. I enjoy teaching in groups, as it is not possible to hear changes in one's own voice, but hearing the effect of technique in other people's voices helps to affirm the change in one's own sound.

So: what does 2011 look like for me?

Working with a retirement provider rolling out the Glee Club model into all of their villages, over a two-year period, leading to guaranteed high-quality outcomes for the participants, in addition to links with a local primary school choir, and publicity in the local press. This will involve recruiting skilled people to lead and accompany the Glee Clubs.
Singing students, individually, and in groups. Face-to-face, and via the internet,with skype &/or video conferencing
Working with school choirs and choir directors, face-to-face and at a distance, as with the singing students
Working with other people in musical settings, e.g church singing, instrumental groups, beginning conductors.

Categories two to four is what I have been doing this year already in small ways, and I do not want to lose sight of this work, as it makes a difference.

But I am passionate about taking my model into more villages, because of the multitudinous benefits to the participants, and to the other residents of the villages in which the Glee Clubs now run.

Interview with Hilda Ross Manager

2010-07-16T15:05:00.004+12:00

Today I went to interview the manager at Hilda Ross abut the Glee Club.

I asked her what she thought the effect of the Glee Club was in the village.

Her response was that she is fully supportive of the activity, and see the benefits to the participants as follows:

Enjoyment is evident
Companionship is apparent
Health benefits (breathing, posture, brain function)
A structured activity that they look forward to
Cognitive skills are enhanced, through learning music (and the right-left brain effect of engaging actively in music making)
The Hilda Ross Glee Club has a good profile in the wider Hamilton Community, which reflects well on the village
The residents always greatly enjoy the Glee Club concerts.

Hilda Ross Glee Club winter concert

2010-07-16T14:26:00.003+12:00

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.

Business proposal

2010-07-07T12:15:00.006+12:00

I have just spent the weekend with a very helpful business consultant who has managed to direct me in the right ways to put a proposal to Ryman Healthcare, for them to take on my Glee Club model for their company and to roll it out into all of their villages.

My points of difference, and my data over the last four years are strong, comparing well with their current exercise programme called Triple A, and the business plan is that they pay for outcomes rather than taking me on staff. My consultant is also willing to accompany me to the presentation to Ryman CEO, when it is ready to go and I have the appointment. He has suggested that I need to make it by mid-September, so that it can go through the company's decision-making in time to commence in February 2011.

My current conundrum is that I think I am going to be working even more next year than I have this year, but it will all be my choice, and it will all be in areas where there is room for exponential growth. Is this truly a problem? I think not.

Btw my clever business consultant is my son Matthew, and he truly amazes me with his knowledge and and perception, both of my business, and business practice.

Matt Jackson

Possibilities are multiplying!

2010-07-02T12:02:00.002+12:00

On Thursday morning, July 1st I had a singing session with second-year MMP students (MMP stands for Mixed Media Presentation, and the students have a week on campus three times a year and do the rest of their learning online).

I gave them all one of my new business cards, and talked about what I am planning to do: retirement setting choirs, and singing lessons. The question came up about teaching singing via skype, and that is what I wanted to do about five years ago, but the technology was not up to it, so of course I said yes! From there it led to working with school choirs in country areas, where access to expertise is not possible, so the strands to my work for 2011 are getting more and more varied.

By the end of the weekend, the basics of my new business website will be up and running. To think that the first inkling of potential redundancy only arose a month ago leaves me breathless, so much has happened already!

From Bertram, aged 83

2010-06-28T15:52:00.004+12:00

Bertram appears in the photo with Jessie. They are two of the three octegenarians in the Hamilton Chorale.

I am glad to report that you took special effort to convince me that I could sing in tune, and have taken discrete steps to ensure that I had a strong singer next to me. I have the highest regard for your musical and educational abilities, and knowledgeable friends confirm that under your leadership, Hamilton Chorale has improved its tone and musicality.

I have also been approached by the Eastside Singers, (where Bertram is also a member) who are a choir of retirees. They have been, up until now, conducted by one of their own. They want me to consider conducting and training them in 2011. Given the lead-up to that time, I am hoping that they will be able to apply for some funding to pay me a reasonable allowance for this weekly responsibility.

It also raises the prospect of growing the choir considerably, with getting some of the people from the over 60s group (see my post on April 1st 2010) who want to sing, to join. So many possibilities, it is continuing to be exciting!

Big changes in my life and work

2010-06-21T10:00:00.003+12:00

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 :-)

A concert review

2010-05-03T13:56:00.002+12:00

I am conductor and musical director of the Hamilton Chorale as I have mentioned before and we did our first 2010 concert series this last weekend.

Virgina Gallagher was invited to review the concert, by the editor of the Raglan website and this is her review:

Review

Hamilton Chorale at Raglan Union Church, Saturday 1st May 2010

A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Union Church on
Saturday 1st May for a concert by the Hamilton Chorale. Entitled
Celtic Weavings, the programme consisted of music with a Celtic theme.
The music was an interesting mix from Ireland, Scotland and Wales,
some of it well known, and other pieces new to the audience.

The opening bracket, under the heading ‘Call to Celebrate’ was bright
introductory music, John Peel and Comin’ Thro’ the Rye were
particularly memorable. In the next bracket ‘In Quiet Moments’ the
tempo was more relaxed and highlighted the choir’s versatility. Then
the audience was invited to participate, and soon all were joining in
with Loch Lomond and Annie Laurie.

The next bracket ‘Lassies and Laddies’ gave the different sections of
the choir a chance to come to the fore. In several numbers for ladies
voices only, the careful blending of three parts was a joy to listen
to. The men particularly enjoyed their solo numbers; in ‘The Star of
the County Down’ they kept up a cracking pace, much to the enjoyment
of the audience. More sing-along with slower numbers My Love is Like
a Red Red Rose and Danny Boy. Once again the audience sang with
gusto, although some of the higher notes were beyond some audience
members!

The final bracket ‘The Old Country Calling’ reminded us that many in
the church that day have Celtic roots, and could relate to the
beautiful music that has become so well known in New Zealand. The
masterful arrangement of ‘I Know Where I’m Going’ was particularly
memorable, and the rousing ‘Molly Malone’ brought the most enjoyable
concert to an end.

Ably assisted by accompanist Elisabeth Murray, the conductor Julie
Jackson-Gough should be very pleased with this concert. She succeeded
in blending the 30 strong choir into a group that was a pleasure to
listen to. The imaginative addition of the ladies’ coloured scarves,
representing Scotland, Ireland and Wales, enhanced the Celtic theme.
It is a pity that more people did not come out in the chilly autumn
weather to hear this capable group of singers. Hopefully, they will
come to Raglan again to perform.

Virginia Gallagher

A special note from one of my Hamilton Chorale singers

2010-04-19T14:13:00.001+12:00

Hello Julie
I need to let you know just how much I am enjoying being a new member of The Hamilton Chorale. I have wanted to join for some while, but due to other commitments have been unable to do so until this year. I can't wait to get there each week, then I am so 'high' when I get home I can't sleep. You are teaching me so much & that I am hugely grateful for, as I can then pass on this knowledge to a small group that I help out with at a retirement village. I have enjoyed singing for many years but felt that I was stuck and really not going anywhere, so you can imagine my joy at the wonderful things I am learning at each practice. I just feel thanks to your efforts that my voice is improving. Thank you so much.
Kind regards
Pat Simpson

INsite article about 8 - 80 concert

2010-04-14T12:57:00.002+12:00

This is the hotlink to the article.

INsite article

Enjoy
Julie

Singing for Continuing Education over 60's group

2010-04-01T11:12:00.003+13:00

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!

Project 2

2010-03-08T13:33:00.005+13:00

The project that involves setting a choir up at the Ryman Healthcare Edmund Hillary Complex in Auckland is still waiting on an Auckland tutor. The advertisement that I sent for the graduate students at Auckland University to consider got stuck with a faculty member who was on leave. It has now been posted to the graduate student email list and they have until March 20th to respond to me.

In the meantime I am able to put more head-space into project three, which is my Hamilton Chorale, and sort out the May 2nd/3rd concerts in Raglan and Hamilton. They are on a Celtic theme, and we are having a lot of fun working out what some of colloquial words are in the songs. Having resident Scots and Irish helps, also those who go away to find out.

I have an article due on April 1st about the 8 - 80 concert project, so that will keep me busy until March 20th at least. It has made it easier that the writing up is not overlapping with the setting up of project 2.

The Choirs report on the amazing experience of the 8 - 80 Concert

2010-03-08T13:18:00.005+13:00

I have held the two focus groups and the children and the Glee Club have all reported positively about the whole experience, including unanimously wanting to do it all again next year.

When I asked the girls, as a final question, if there was anything that they didn't like, it was the heat. Nothing to do with their buddies in the Glee Club:

here are some responses from the Rotokauri Tuis

"I enjoyed getting to know just one person in particular which made me feel comfortable any time I saw them.

“ They made me feel really comfortable, I enjoyed their kindness, and they were basically complimenting our singing every minute.”

"I enjoyed going to see where they lived, getting to know about them and about their lives"

when I asked the Tuis if they thought differently about older people now that the project is completed, they said:

“ They don’t sing like old people” “ I like how they were being kind”
“They’re really talented” “ I liked talking to my buddy and answering her questions”
“They sounded great singing” “ I liked hearing about their life and stuff, and about their place”
“ I Liked hearing the songs that they sang”

S0 what did the Glee Club think?

“Talking about the relationship between the children and us, it was the most wonderful experience, I enjoyed it immensely.”

“I think there was a remarkable rapport between the children and us, it was a most memorable experience for all concerned, the Tuis and us.”

“I thought that it would be chaotic, but in the end I found it to be quite something, to be matching our older voices with the young voices. I liked it”

“I thought it was a very profitable experience. I enjoyed seeing their conditions and them seeing us. I like the way the children adopted us and looked after us. One of them after the concert brought her mother to meet me.”

“I felt, at first, that it was going to be a bit of a shambles with the children so excited, and they were going to be, you know, dashing around madly with great excitement, but when it came to the actual time, they just pulled themselves into line. And I think their exuberance, really. We took up their exuberance with our singing”

“My personal opinion about going out to the school and singing with them, on the day we made the concert was: It helped me as far as breathing goes. I learned to breathe a little faster and better with the children, to keep up with the children. I found I was dropping back a bit in the slow state, so those children gave me a little bit of extra ‘oomph’, and nothing but delight in having them with me anyway”

I am receiving email responses from the parents, so that will be a future post.

An amazing concert!!

2010-02-27T14:31:00.003+13:00

Yesterday was the culmination of Project 1. The Hilda Ross Glee Club and the Rotokauri Tuis, performed together in the 8 - 80 concert as part of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. It was a very enjoyable event, as the audience swelled to nearly 500 people!! Given the venue, I am not sure how well the people at the back were able to hear the choirs, but the level of interest shown by the attendance is potentially indicative of people's interest in intergenerational activities.

Both choirs sang well, with one or two glitches, but they slid by with little notice. The technology worked on the whole, and we did manage to get them all together at the end of the concert. Our national anthem is sung in Maori and in English, and we used a backing track that had been prepared by our Ministry of Education for use in schools. Because there was about a 30-second haka in between the two versions of the anthem, the girls were able to come down off the stage and find their buddy and stand in front of them or on their chair, if the buddy was standing. The image above was taken during rehearsal. I was thrilled beyond words with the concert!!

So much to tell you.....

At the final combined rehearsal, it was hard to get to the singing. Just 13 of the Tuis arrived at the Hilda Ross complex, it is harder for them to get: transport, parents' permission, and time out of school. But the girls who were there made the most of it. They went and viewed one of the villas in the complex and one of the serviced apartments, to see how the Glee Club live. Then we rehearsed our combined pieces, to the delight of our fan club, which swelled for this practice. Manager of the complex, Wendy, came and saw what was happening with the combined group, and was instrumental in getting the head office to print us programmes, a total of 200, which I thought was optimistic :-)

I called in at the venue two days before the concert to see that the risers were there and where the power points were for the children's sound system, and for the keyboard for the Glee Club. To my dismay there was a flat stage, accessed by four steps at one side, which meant that having th Tuis move in with the Gee Club for some of their combined songs was no longer possible. In addition there was the problem of how they were to all be seen. It was one of those late-night light-bulb moments. I set up two rows of chairs on the stage area, and one row on the floor in front. The front row of girls on the floor stood on their chairs, the second row stood on the stage and the third row stood on their chairs. It all worked, except the back row was too far away from the middle row, so the chairs were turned around to back onto the middle row, the girls stood on these to sing, and then had to 'perch' when the Glee Club did their own items, They coped remarkably well!!

The Festival organiser Sarah Beattie, did a sterling job. Helping with setting up the staging for the two choirs and then setting out the audience chairs. I don't know how it happened, but as people arrived, more chairs arrived. The helpers at the Festival are mostly volunteers, and they were fantastic! Chairs set out, and then after the concert, the chairs were all stacked and put away again, probably within 30 minutes of the concert concluding.

This coming week I will hold three focus groups: with the Tuis, with the Glee Club, and with parents of the Tuis, to see what they have said at home about the experience. I have a sense of regret now that the performance has happened.

A week to Concert

2010-02-22T11:45:00.003+13:00

What a year it has been so far. Summer school went very well, with high positive assessment from the students on both the course and my teaching.

Project One
I met the Glee Club for their first rehearsal of the year on January 28th. and then spent ten days in Brisbane catching up with my grandson and his parents.

Today is the final combined rehearsal of the two choirs, and the children have their special friends now in the Glee Club. During these rehearsals there has been more a sense of the two choirs singing as one, rather than two choirs singing the same song. The children are gaining some of the resonance of the older singers, and the Glee Club are gaining some of the brighter tone from the children.

Tomorrow is my final rehearsal with the Rotokauri Tuis, they will rehearse more with their tutor Susanne. Glee Club will have two more rehearsals. Then we all meet at the venue at 2:00p.m. Friday, to walk through the concert, feel the acoustic by singing in the space, finalise our staging in situ, and hopefully have some time to relax before the concert commences.

Next week I will conduct focus groups with each choir, and with willing parents of the children's choir, getting feedback about what the participants have gained from this musical experience, and then get it written up and submitted for publication!!

Project Two
The contract with Ryman Healthcare is verbally agreed, and now awaiting documents to sign. Advertising has gone out to Auckland University Music Education department, and the Auckland members of NEWZATS, inviting extessions of interest to tutor the group at the Edmund Hillary Complex in Remuera.

I will

Go and talk with the residents. and the staff, about the project.
Get them to give ethical approval for their medical data, such as blood pressure, oxygen uptake, breath capacity, be relased to me for a before and after measure
Get them to find someone in the village who cn be their research 'buddy' who will not be part of th singing programme, who will alos agree to the medical data being available.
Go to their first rehearsal, introduce their tutor, and provide the initial repertoire.
Visit with them at rehearsal every two months, giving encouragement, and making suggestions, including looking for leadership to emerge within the resident group
Return in November to collect post-data, as well as questionnaires that they have filled out for me, and conduct a focus group where we can dialogue about the project.
Write up the project, both for Ryman Healthcare, and for publication.

Project three
Hamilton Chorale commenced rehearsal two weeks ago, and are well into the preparation for the Celtic Connections Concert. Planned dates for this concert are May 2nd in Raglan and May 3rd in Hamilton.
Members are sourcing some dancers who would like to come and guest at this concert.

Other exciting news for Chorale is that well-known New Zealand composer David Hamilton has ageed to write a piece for us for our second concert, the them of which is: Around the World in 80 minutes

The year is well underway!!

Happy New Year and what a year it is going to be!!

2010-01-01T16:00:00.007+13:00

It is January 1st 2010, and I have fortunately had a very relaxing Christmas break time. I teach Summer School in Tauranga January 11 - 22, which will be intense, but also very rewarding. Then:....

Project One
I am now doing final preparation for the upcoming 8 to 80 concert, which is occurring during the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. I am going to need to prepare cds for Glee Club to learn music, as I have a trip of 10 days to Australia during our preparation time for the concert on February 26th. Primary schools are back in after the summer on February 2nd , and we will need to have at least three rehearsals with the girls and the adults together, possibly one just getting to know each other and singing for each other, so that the girls especially will be aware of how well the Glee Club can sing.

None of our photos were used for the brochure, and that is fine. For future occasions we will be proactive and make sure that we have images of high enough definition to be used for such events.
The Festival programme can be viewed here. Click on February 26th and you will see the concert advertised.

Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival

Project Two
I have had verbal agreement from Ryman Health that they will fund a year-long programme in their Edmund Hillary Village in Auckland, under my direction. I will visit the village and recruit people into the 'choir'. I will advertise and 'audition' a prospective leader for the group. I will share the programme guidelines with that person, and be available to help with repertoire, music etc. I will set up the clinical measures to be taken prior to the group commencing, and endeavour to match each participant to a non-participant in the village so that we have a comparison group. I will ensure that group participants are recruited to take on various leadership roles.I will visit the group monthly and then bi-monthy to offer encouragement and any other help, suggestions or arrangements that are appropriate.

My eldest son, who is a businessman, is advising me in the negotiations for this so that the best outcomes happen: for Ryman Health, for the participants at Edmund Hillary Retirement Complex, and for my ongoing work in this field, which is currently unique in New Zealand.

Project three
I must not forget my community choir, the Hamilton Chorale, as rehearsals commence again with them on February 10th and they need a new repertoire. The theme for the first concert is Celtic Music, which will definitely be fun!

My Mentors
I am grateful to have appointments next week with both of my two mentors: Professor Bevan Grant, who was my professor in my masters paper during the first semester 2009, and has been working in the gerontology field for decades, and Professor Stephen Clift of the Sidney de Haan Centre in England. I have spoken of Stephen before. As stated on the centre's website: "the primary aim of the Sidney de Haan Research Centre is to promote the value of Music and the arts for the wellbeing and health of individuals and communities."

Sidney de Haan Research Centre

Attention from Right, Left and Centre

2009-11-27T13:49:00.003+13:00

While returning from a business trip to the Taranaki region on Wednesday, I received a cellphone message from Ronnie, one of the activities people at Hilda Ross. She was telling me that the Waikato Times (local newspaper) was coming the next day to take photographs of the Glee Club. I made a personal note to make sure that my appearance was not my usual rushed scruffy self.

I had a morning of meetings the next day and during one of the meetings I got a txt message from Ronnie asking me to urgently call the reporter who had interviewed the Glee Club participants the day before, which I did, gave him some more background information about what has happened in the last year, and found out what it was all about. We are to feature in the 'where are they now' column of the paper. A year ago they published an article about the release of our c.d., it will be interesting how much page space we will get in tomorrow's paper. I have also found out that the c.d. is still slowly selling from the front desk at Hilda Ross!!

In addition, urgent messages were going back and forth about information and photos for the Hamilton Summer Gardens Summer Festival promotional material. I had passed this request onto the women of the Rotokaiuri Tuis and followed the emails to find out that their photos were too low in resolution. So I asked if any of the Glee Club had a camera with good resolution and Marie went and got hers. At the end of rehearsal, (after Times photos and all) I ask the men to grab two women and find a neutral background. What a delightful scrabble, and such fun! I took photos of three trios all on different background with her camera, and then asked Harry to process it all while I went and worked with the Rest Home Singers. Harry is as close to 80 as you can be without being 80, (but I can't tell you his age.) He took Marie's camera, downloaded the photos to his computer, put them in a folder and then loaded the folder onto my 4BG memory stick, and brought it to me in the Rest Home Lounge. With the advances to this Blog site I can share with you the photos that I sent in.

Here is Harry the computer whiz, Ngaire my good friend and drinking buddy, and Elizabeth who is my associate music director.

Here is Bob, one of the newest members of the Glee Club, Betty whose husband Noel has been called the mayor, and who also worked on my kitchen 12 years ago, and Brenda who is the Glee Club librarian.

Here is Allison a newer member of Glee Club, Alex who has been Glee Club member since the beginning of the year, and Pauline who has been in Glee Club since it started.

I will be very interested in reading what they told the reporter in my absence :-)

Intergernational concert preparation underway

2009-10-23T11:59:00.005+13:00

I met with Suzanne and Kara, the conductors of the Rotokauri Tuis (childrens' choir) on Tuesday, and we mapped out the concert which will be performed on Friday February 26th. Both choirs will sing together for six songs, and then each choir will perform two sets of songs. The Tuis will do one set of songs with their whole choir and another set with a smaller group of the senior singers, who are working on singing in parts.

Yesterday (Thursday October 22nd) I told the Glee Club about the plans for the concert. I taught them the chorus of the Kiwi Kids' Theme song, I gave them the 'When I'm 64' lyrics to work on rewriting. The Tuis will sing the original version of the song, the Glee Club will sing their version of the song. I gave Glee Club the Tui's new words to the ABBA song Honey Honey, which has turned it into a love of the product, very cleverly.

I sent an email to the Garden's Festival organiser about date, time and venue for the concert. It appears that we will have the venue we want, the Pavilion, an inside venue where the Glee Club will be able to sit for most (for some) or all (for some) of the concert. The organiser had envisaged the concert being held outside on a lawn, and that would have required amplification, chairs, etc. Watch this space, I am still thinking about how we might merge our concepts.

I have put a post on the AIRS project, a request for help about how to record this event in relation to the outcomes for both sets of participants for this process. AIRS stands for Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing. It is an exciting concept, but doesn't appear to be very active as yet. I have also joined an Ethnographic research group here in the School of Education, and will be asking them for their learned opinions as well. Furthermore I will be talking to my colleague Professor Peggy Koopman-Boyden who has been a gerontologist for some decades, and picking her brains.

In the meantime, I go next Tuesday to work vocally with the senior singers at Rotokauri (ages 10 & 11) (a whole new way of using senior!!)and start talking with them about the project. I will continue to work with Glee Club, which now has 31 singers!!!

October 1st

2009-10-01T11:58:00.004+13:00

What a busy four weeks it has been for me, with additional classes to teach, and additional admin to see to. The Celebrating Age group did not happen, due to lack of interest. One person turned up the first time, nobody turned up the second time, and one person turned up the third time. It is either the wrong day, or time of day, or perhaps the wrong time of year.

However the Hilda Ross Glee Club is growing by leaps and bounds. I held a 'come and talk to me' meeting to which all of the villa residents were invited. Five members of Glee Club were at the meeting, and they answered questions, while I gave quotes about the researched benefits of singing. One of the delightful pieces of feedback that has occurred is that some people think that they are not good enough now that the Glee Club sound so good. As a result we had six new people join us, and our roll is now 26, with 6 men!!

Alex and Tui and Brian accompanied me as I went to have an interview on Hamilton Community radio. Initially I was going to have 45 minutes, but then it was just over 20 minutes, so the interview with me turned into an interview about this research and the Hilda Ross Glee Club, and went very well according to those who listened. I will try to get a sound file onto this site for you to listen to the interview, if interested. I could put a link to the radio station, but given that I am the last 20+ minutes of a 2-hr recording, I don't think that is practicable.

There has been an interesting comparison for me the last two weeks. With school holidays, sickness, and grandparent responsibilities, I have had a fairly high absency rate at Hamilton Chorale Rehearsals, such that I have more people at Glee Club than I do at Chorale, for now!

Celebrating Age Singing Group

2009-08-26T09:35:00.004+12:00

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.

Hilda Ross Glee Club performances

2009-08-26T09:35:00.000+12:00

On August 19th the Glee Club presented two performances, one at the Salvation Army Day programme, and one at the University of Waikato, as part of the 12@12 weekly performance programme. Then we took ourselves over to The Station, where we had lunch at reserved tables, a most pleasant and busy day.

The day before (August 18th) I had been to the Hilda Ross complex and talked with a group of about 15 people who were interested in joining the Glee Club. Conversation had occured saying that people thought thay they were not good enough so didn't come and join, so some of the Glee Club people told the visitors how much fun they had, and how much better they felt when they sing, and why they wouldn't miss practise, unless they really had to. This was very encouraging, and it will be interesting to see how many new members there will be at this week's practice.

A Summary of my current position

2009-08-05T13:12:00.005+12:00

Today, during a programme called 'Research Bites' I presented my current position after all of the discoveries and discussion of the past two weeks. I shared the findings out of the Singing and Health report from the Sidney de Haan Centre, which reflected much of my own findings, from open-ended-question surveys that I have been using with my groups up until now.

I now have three sets of data that I will be collecting.

Data 1
I am now in the position of getting 'critical mass' with thirteen groups of people with participants over age 60 filling out the following questionnaire between now and the end of the year, potentially up to 200 people.

How does singing in *** influence your health?
How does singing in *** influence your sense of wellbeing?
How does singing in *** influence your quality of life?

Data 2
I have collected a second set of blood pressure data from the Hilda Ross Glee Club and this will grow into a longditudinal set of data with individual people's data as well as the collective data.

Data 3
I am working in the intergenerational setting with the Glee Club and the Rotokairu Tuis for a concert in the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival in February 2010. Having made links with the AIRS project I will be looking at research guidance from the intergenerational group there, along with the Sidney de Haan centre faculty. This project starts in mid September.

Forward Planning

2009-08-02T19:48:00.002+12:00

What a difference a week makes!!

I had a most informative and enjoyable conversation with Professor Stephen Clift on Friday afternoon. He sent me links to many things that they are doing from, and in, the Sidney de Haan Centre. He has agreed to be my mentor, and so my publication record is going to grow greatly in the next two years, since I can now have feedback from someone working in the same field, before I submit for publication.

Stephen put me onto the AIRS project (Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing) and I have applied to join. This is an international consortium of people, who are all working on the same area. As I have said to friends, I have not be so excited in a long time.

The AIRS project

What became clear in talking to Stephen is that we are working on the same things, and that I am potentially at the 'cutting edge' of this big corpus of work. With the Hilda Ross Glee Club working with the Rotokaura Tuis (a choir of 50 girls from Rotokauri School aged 6 - 12) for a concert at the Hamilton Summer Gardens Festive in February 2010, I have an intergenerational prorgamme starting in about two months. The consortium will allow me to ask questions of anyone else who has done such programmes, and how I can collect usefual data on this, to contribute to the field.

The main and overwhelming feeling and sense I have is that I am no longer working alone, that what I am doing is becoming more and more important and valued in a global sense, and that I can be a significant part of that.

Stephen Clift

2009-07-22T11:13:00.003+12:00

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:

Singing and mental health
Singing and chronic lung disease (Elizabeth)
Singing older people and dementia (some of my Glee Club)
Singing and Parkinsons disease (Cecelia)
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

2009-07-20T14:06:00.005+12:00

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!!

St Andrews Senior Singers

2009-07-20T13:19:00.003+12:00

I was delighted to get an email from the manager of the St Andrews complex in Cambridge. I went to visit them on May 13th, and they have formed a group that is open to all retired people in Cambridge. With a population of around 15,000, and other choral groups in the town, it will be interesting to see how the group grows. I have been invited to use them for research which is excellent! They are being taken alternate weeks by two different people. It will be interesting to find out what effect this has. I surmise that the group dynamic will be stronger as the group will be the constant. I will plan to visit with them after they have been functioning for at least 10 weeks, which is about 8 weeks from now.

The wonderful Hilda Ross Glee Club

2009-07-20T13:02:00.004+12:00

The members of the Glee Club are taking more and more ownership of the group. Once again, while I was away they all attended rehearsal. The commitment to the group is something that is now valued by the members, and they encourage each other in that as well as valuing it when they are together. Furthermore they are formally taking on roles within that. Harry has been already arranging indexes for the music so that those who have trouble finding their music, now have it numbered. He has reformatted pages which I have prepared that are also not user friendly, and when I sent the programme order through for the next concert, then activities person Marie took it to Harry and he typed it out, including the number of each song in the folder as well. Harry is now our administrator. Tui, one of my two blind singers is the contacts person. If I need to get a message out then Tui will do it for me. Elizabeth is the one who takes rehearsals when I am not there, and has introduced a new song to the Glee Club, which I will try to have little to do with. Elizabeth is the only one who uses her cellphone regularly so she will be the one I message, and she will pass things on to the right person to action.

Commitment to, and enjoyment of, Glee Club is sometimes shown in dramatic ways. When we sang at the Gerontology Conference in 2007, Glen discharged himself from hospital to come and sing with us. He was not well but he loved singing. He died partway through 2008. At our practise last Thursday Cecelia collapsed. We sit for our rehearsals, in chairs which wrap around the body. Initially I thought she was sleeping, and I roused her and found the place in her folder, but she then became unresponsive. We are fortunate to have Dr Alex in the Glee Club who told me what to do, we rang the bell and got her lying down on the floor, her blood pressure was well down. Her husband arrived, and said he knew that she shouldn't have come, she couldn't even talk to him when she left the apartment. Medics arrived, and we sort-of went on with our rehearsal. Cecelia regained consciousness, and I told her before she was taken off in a wheelchair that she had to look after herself so that she could sing, she smiled. Now that is some determination to sing!!

Conferences

2009-07-20T13:01:00.002+12:00

I thoroughly enjoyed the two conferences that I attended in Canterbury. July 3rd - 10th

The first was a Music Research Conference: The 31st Australia New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education (ANZARME) Conference held in Akaroa July 3rd - 6th. The format of the conference was excellent, we all listened to each other, but never for long enough, we had 15 minutes each and so many said 'have I run out already?' I presented a paper about the profile of Ageing New Zealanders, the government's Positive Ageing Strategy and its bias towards physical health and fitness outcomes, with less regard to other ways of both keeping fit and enhancing quality of life (singing), and current research on benefits of singing. I showed them a chart which showed the pre and post blood pressure of my Glee Club, taken before and after rehearsal the day before I left. I will try to put a pdf of this up for you to see, but in summary, the blood pressure in 11 out of 15 people mover closer to normal (being 120 over 80). People whose pressure was low came up and people whose pressure was up came down. It is far too small a sample to mean anything, but given that I had no idea what would happen, I find it significant and something to definitely continue to investigate. During my presentation I did a non-scientific study on the group of 40 people listening. At the beginning of my presentation I asked them to make a mark on the bottom of a page at the back of their pad (provided for us in the conference pack) indicating on a likert scale (left being low, right being high) their current sense of wellbeing. Towards the end of my presentation I put up the words of the first verse of Waltzing Matilda (in deference to the Australians) and they stood and sang with me, then sat and marked a page in front of the first, with their then current sense of wellbeing. Over 65% recorded improved sense, some recorded no change, and one recorded a lower sense (she was the next presenter)(N=40) . This paper will be written up to be published, and if there is a link I will post it here.

The second conference was the MENZA National Music Education Conference held in Christchurch. The keynote speakers were all very good value, with Dr Richard Letts for the Australian Music Council giving excellent advice about how we can better advocate for music at all levels in New Zealand. Professor Sam Leong for Hong Kong gave a provocative presentation on assessment, saying that teaching and learning and assessing should be three side of the same triangle.

My presentation to this conference was more ethnographic. I gave the attendants the results of three open-ended questions that I gave the Glee Club, asking them how Glee Club affected their health, feeling of well-being, and quality of life. I also played two video interviews that I conducted with participants, asking them why they sing in Glee Club, and what they think about our performing on and off site. There were not many who came to my presentation, I went and picked up my Dad, age 87 and he came to see me do my 'thing'. However, those who were there were all very interested and helpful in their comments and supportive of my ongoing work so I have people to bounce ideas off, and one person who is going to send me books that she no longer uses!!!

Ageing and Society Masters paper

2009-07-01T16:22:00.004+12:00

I handed in my last assignment today, asking myself over the last week as I have struggled with it why I keep doing papers. But the answer is simple, and two-fold. I wanted the knowledge, and I wanted to be accountable for the knowledge I was gaining. I have been grateful to Professor Bevan Grant who has been my lecturer in this course, as well as my colleague for the last fourteen years, as well as to my classmates, Leslie, Doreen and Steffi. We have learnt much about each other, and about the subject from each other as well.

It has also been intersting to tell my students about my study, and model for them the lifelong learner that I believe I am. I will tell you my grade when it comes through as well :-)

My final project was a profile of a person over the age of seventy. I choose Jean, who has become my friend at the Hilda Ross Rest Home. Jean is a highly intelligent, highly articulate, highly opinionated woman, who holds interesting conversations and is still very much a master of her own destiny. Having some health problems she nevertheless considers herself to be in quite good health. She is an avid reader, of newspapers and books, and is now learning to use a computer for the first time in her life. She turns 90 in November.

I shall have to show Jean this website so that she can follow my blog from now on.

Pete and Beulah Mae

2009-06-10T09:44:00.002+12:00

This delightful youtube clip was brought to my attention

Old Swingers Peter and Beulah Mae

I put up some comments in the response area regarding the ageist posts that others were making about how they could not be 'old' as they were too flexible, they were made up to look old etc. In reading through, I found a post from 'Pete's' daughter where she told that her father was dying his hair gray in order to appear old.

I then, in youtube, received an email from 'Pete' telling me his real name, and that he is age 70 and his wife is age 50, and they love dancing and have no intention of giving up for a long time to come.

I had my own ageist treatment a few weekends ago when a caring son came to 'organise' me. He and his wife were very kind in what they did, and I have appreciated the ongoing effects of that, but not the overarching impetus that I 'needed' fixing. I imagine this debate will be ongoing as my very competent and caring sons will always care for their widowed mother, but as I am yet to reach the age of 55, is it yet necessary?

You're only old once!

2009-06-10T09:36:00.004+12:00

I have just acquired this book after seeing it in class. It is subtitled 'a book for obsolete children' and takes a man through the medical tests that are imposed upon him and then the "pillifcation" that he is left with. Here is the beginning of the two pages:

For your pill drill you'll go to room Six Sixty three,
where a voice will instruct you "Repeat after me
This small white pill is what I munch
at breakfast and right after lunch
I take the pill that's Kelley green
before each meal and in between.
These loganberry-colored pills
I take for early morning chills.
I take the pills with zebra stripes
to cure my early evening gripes......
finishing with
This long flat one is what I take
if I should die before I wake
A highly entertaining book for those being treated as old before their time

A busy Wednesday

2009-05-19T14:37:00.005+12:00

Wednesday May 13th was a very busy day. The Hilda Ross Glee Club performed at the University of Waikato in the 12@12 programme. This is a 12-plus minutes' performing Arts event in the School of Education. We performed 7 songs, including three from the new repertoire. The audience were most appreciative, and asked for an encore, even though one of the Glee Club members had given this away already. As I announced the last song, one of them said 'no, two more' the second being the one we had prepared for the encore. With much hilarity we were asked quite clearly to give an encore. A large portion of the audience were a group of early childhood educators, and some of them fell in love with Wally, age 91 and wanted to take him home. I told him this the next day at Glee Club rehearsal, and he was ready to go!!

From here the Glee Club move over to The Station which is a restaurant across the road from the part of the University where we performed. They had tables set for us, with tablecloths, cutlery, glasses, carafes of water and some printed version of their blackboard menu. This enabled those more ambulant to get food for the less ambulant.

I had to leave them promptly as I was heading to Cambridge to present to a residents' meeting about the Glee Club's programme at the Selwyn St Andrews complex . I was not clear exactly what was expected of me, so I took with me the printout of the latest survey that I had carried out with Glee Club. It turned out that I was speaking to residents to try and inspire them to start their own group. Their manager had heard me speak earlier in the year at the Bay of Plenty managers meeting. I have promised to help them get started, this is another 'watch this space'

The afternoon concluded with shared coffee with the visiting mental health doctor, who showed interest in the effects of singing from the aspect of those with mental health issues. I will await action in that area as well, as I understand an invitation to present to that group is coming up.

I have also been asked to review a book for the INsite journal, entitled 'connecting through music with people with Dementia'. The book arrived today, and I am enjoying reading it.

young@heart the New Zealand Story

2009-05-11T16:34:00.003+12:00

I am probably using this title a bit out of time now, as it is a quite some time since the movie came out. However the Glee Club's journey has not be unlike that choir. I am collecting data all the time on them, having now obtained two video interviews, and planning to video interview all of the participants. I presented this project to colleagues last Friday here, at the University of Waikato, and my presentation engendered a good discussion about the sociological aspects of the research.

A strong message that came through the discussion was that I should be looking at presenting via an ethnological model, rather than a statistical model. I was asked what the prime aim of my research is, and the answer to that question is that I want to see valid, interactive, mutually respectful singing, that has an anticipation that the singing will improve, in as many settings as possible, given the growing evidence that it has such multiple effects for the people involved.

When the Glee Club were recently asked how being involved Glee Club influences their health, they replied:

77F Improved memory, breathing, clarity of diction
82M Improving it with breath control and lung ventilation
84F Helps me get out of the house, talk to other people and not think about myself. It has been a lifesaver for me.
78M An active mind and body does have health benefits
76F Good – helps with breathing, come away feeling great
75F Gives me a new lease of life
87F Its good for me; confidence is returning albeit slowly
69F It has certainly helped my asthma
85F To me it is as good as a tonic
77F The singing helps and improves my speech and my voice
69F Very beneficial – my breathing has improved and deepened since starting singing. I never imagined singing in a choir because of a chronic cough caused by Bronchiestasis which I have suffered from for 64 years.
78F Mentally and good for lungs for breathing
90M Very good.

that is just the tip of the iceberg. This gets more and more exiting the further I go!!!

Agewise Seminar: Social Connectedness for Older People

2009-05-01T13:21:00.004+12:00

Yesterday I attended and spoke at the above conference. I was accompanied by Val and Val. There are three 'Val's in the Hilda Ross complex and they all now sing in Glee Club, which is great. I had a class to teach first thing and left half way through the class time to get to the conference. I left them to their own devices, preparing group performance for next Thursday for assessment so they had plenty to do. I collected the Vals from Hilda Ross, and got to the conference in time for the end of morning tea, and we were able to listen to two other presentations before it was my turn. I am pleased that I am technologically adept, and was able to link my own computer into the data display, and play the two video interviews that I could not play at the Bay of Plenty presentation. In addition I was able to include some of the data from my latest survey with the Glee Club; material to do with the effect of participation in Glee Club on health, feeling of wellbeing, and quality of life.

I have got more canny at getting them to fill the surveys out for me, I invited them to my home for lunch and all they had to bring was themselves and their survey completed. This was a delightful event, that happened March 27th and will be repeated. Next time the suggestion was that it would be pot luck and that suits me down to the ground :-)

The responses were once again very positive to my presentation, and each time I present I have added to the research that supports what I am finding. I am still amazed at the strength of the comments of the respondents to the simple act of singing. In discussion with Val and Val as we travelled, and in line with the responses to multiple surveys, I have come to the conclusion as to what a successful tutor in this setting needs to be:

musically able, to play piano, or to have someone to play piano,
to know about singing and how to get people to sing using their voices more effectively, i.e. improving,
to be able to build mutually respectful relationships with the participants
to have high expectations of the participants' capabilities
to know how to have fun, to laugh and be free to laugh often

Ageing and Society HDCO501-09A(HAM)

2009-03-13T10:03:00.004+13:00

This is the masters paper that I am now enrolled in, with four other classmates. We have had two 3-hr classes so far and handed in one assignment. I don't think my mark will be very good, as I was completely partisan about singing, but I will be very interested in the feedback that I get from the lecturer; Professor Bevan Grant who has been working in the area of Gerontology and physical activity for many years, with much involvement in the masters games. My fellow students are delightfully contrasting, with 25-yr-old Steffi from Taiwan, Doreen who has a lot of knowledge about policy and is around my own age, and Leslie who is a little younger, and is doing a counselling degree. Having typed those ageist comments, I will have to add this post to my third assignment which is about 'Images of Ageing'. I know Steffi is 25 because she told us, I have guestimated the other two women's ages by their appearance. It is amazing how much our personal stories inform our classes, and I see that continuing in such a way that we will be very familiar with each other, and already the friendship between us is growing. We have since been joined by Gabby also around age 25, who works for Sport Waikato, and runs fitness, and wellness sessions for goups and inviduals who are aged. She made a delightfully ageist remark in our last class, when she noted that the Anlene milk advert on tv had used an old woman, which she justified because she had wrinkles. The woman in Question was Alison Roe, marathon runner who is 50 yrs of age, but looks a lot younger, as you may be able to see yourself at this link. Allison Roe

Retirement VIllages Association Waikato/Bay of Plenty Managers Forum

2009-03-13T09:43:00.006+13:00

Harry, his wife Kerry and Elizabeth and I set out for Bayswater Metlifecare last Thursday morning leading to a most interesting and enjoyable day. Because I currently spend little social time with the Glee Club, I know "scraps" about them. This trip with around 1 1/2 hrs driving each way was so informative and so enjoyable. Hearing about Harry's driving escapades, and how he had to get in good with Kerry's Mum so they could get married, such that towards the end of her life, Harry was the one she always remembered, not her own children. Harry and Kerry have their 55th wedding anniversary this week.

There were approximately 30 managers at the meeting, and I presented my findings to them, including many quotes from participants. Technology difficulties meant that I could not play two interviews that I had videoed with two other participants, but the conversation with Harry, Kerry and Elizabeth more than made up for that. I was fascinated to hear their responses to questions. The depth of their enjoyment of the singing programme in some ways surprised me. These are busy people, with many activities in their days, Harry has recently self-published a book about his experiences as a child prisoner of war in Indonesia. Yet both of them and Kerry as a non-participant all said that they start looking forward to the next rehearsal as soon as it is finished. Harry said that if he has to miss rehearsal, something is missing from his week. I is time for me to put together a new survey for the Glee Club and ask some of these questions in a setting where I get full responses. This work gets more and more exciting from every event!

Even more publicity!!

2009-02-18T16:16:00.003+13:00

In looking on the Ryman Healthcare site I found the article linked below, which is gleaned from the newspaper article, and now appears on their website.

Ryman Healthcare article

The beginning of 2009

2009-02-18T14:13:00.003+13:00

After teaching a summer school course in applied music, and going to catch up with my youngest grandson in Australia, I met up with the Glee Club for the first time last week, with three new members, including another man! On my Australian trip I picked on a digital video camera, with an in-built 30GB hard drive, which I will be able to use to collect more video data to include in this year's presentations.

My first presentation is on March 5th in Tauranga to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Retirement Villages Assn Manager's forum. This was set up by John Collyns who is the Director of Retirment Villages Association. He contacted me soon after the article appeared in INsite, and with his own long background in choral singing, asked me to present to this meeting. I will be taking two of the Glee Club members with me, along with video material of the group in rehearsal, and perhaps some comments from those who do not go this time. I am interviewing the manager of the Ryman Healthcare Hilda Ross complex next week (Feb 25th) and her responses will be part of my March presentation.

My next presentation is on April 30th here in Hamilton, to the local Gerontology group. In July I present to the National Music Educators' Conference in Christchurch. I have also been invited to write an article about the Glee Club, their growing reputation, and the recently released c.d. for New Zealand Association of Gerontology national newsletter.

The Glee Club has been invited to perform at another retirement complex in Hamilton, Allandale. We are invited to take our c.d. to sell to the audience. The year is getting more and more involved for the Glee Club. It is both exciting and challenging.

Glee Club in local newspaper

2009-01-15T10:12:00.004+13:00

The Waikato Times newspaper has published a feature article about the Glee Club's cd release. It is great to be able to get publicity during a quiet news time: the article appeared on January 15th 2009. The article was written by Arts reporter Ben Stanley, who came to the Hilda Ross complex and took photographs of the group in rehearsal, including one of his photos with the article, which was placed in the middle top of the page, taking about 1/4 of the page space. Very pleasing!!

Waikato Times article about Glee Club

Glee club interviewed on local radio!!

2008-12-25T21:08:00.004+13:00

The launch of the c.d. at Hilda Ross On Monday Dec 22nd was so exciting, with 90 people turning up to the launch and selling 1/3 of the c.d.s on the day. Then Tuesday Dec 23rd two of the Glee Club members (Keith Aikin and Ngaire Fraser) accompanied me to the Community Radio station to be interviewed about the project. The recordings have been done via the programmes on my Mac computer, Garageband, and iTunes. It is definitely a live recording, perhaps next time we will get into a studio, but for a first recording after just two years of the group, it is great!!

Here is the link for you to listen to the interview.

Community Radio Interview

For those who would like to purchase a copy of the c.d. from outside of Hamilton, please look for my work email address by going to www.waikato.ac.nz and searching for me, and emailing me. I will send you, post-free a copy of the c.d..

It has also been exciting to see the opportunities that are opening up for the Glee Club. At the 2010 Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival Glee Club will be joining with a local primary school choir to present a concert, which will be a great experience, especially the preparation for this project. In addition I have been invited to present to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Retirement Villages Managers forum in March, and two more of the Glee Club members will accompany me there as well, participant voice is paramount in my research, and ongoing work with the Hilda Ross Glee Club.

The cd is here!!!

2008-12-18T15:28:00.004+13:00

The box of completed Hilda Ross Glee Club c.d.s arrived today, and I have one right here, right now. It is very exciting and is already leading to so much more.

There is going to be an official launch of the new c.d. at the Hilda Ross Complex on Monday Dec 22nd at 2:30p.m. Glee Club will sing, and we will play tracks off the c.d.. We are expecting to have press coverage of this event, and sell a good proportion of the c.d.s on the day. It may turn out that 150 was too conservative a number to have made.

The Glee Club will be on community radio (AM1206 or FM106.7) on Tuesday evening Dec 23rd between 5 and 6 during the Arts hour. Keith (85) has agreed to go with me, and one of the women will self select tomorrow. We will be able to play one or two tracks, and the participants will be able to talk about the experience of making the c.d., and of being involved in Glee Club.

At Arts Waikato Christmas party yesterday I was talking to Alana MacKay, Festival manager for the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival, and we have put in place a combined concert with Glee Club and a local primary school choir yet to be approached, for the Summer festival 2010 This annual festival is a BIG event on the Hamilton Calendar.

Hilda Ross Glee Club c.d.

2008-12-16T16:02:00.005+13:00

.. is scheduled to arrive in Hamilton in time for the Town House Luncheon at Hilda Ross on Friday, I feel a launch party coming on!! The Glee Club members live in the town houses and the apartments, and will all be there to receive their own copy as well as buy other copies for friends and family.

We will launch the c.d. with suitable fanfare, I will take my purple trumpet!!!

It is my intention to link some of the sound tracks to my blog so that you can listen to them, also to set up a mechanism whereby you can purchase copies of the c.d., should you choose to, for $10:00

The Zimmers

2008-12-16T15:48:00.003+13:00

The Zimmers are another example of this growing phenomenon of singing with the aged. It's take a bit of sleuthing but I have discovered how this group came about. Many of you would have seen Geriatric1927 in some Telecom adverts. If you haven't look for him in Youtube. His real name is Peter and he has been posting there now for around two years, giving commentary on his view of life and getting a large following. This is a delightful story as well as a great video clip!

The BBC got hold of geriatric1927 and were working with him about getting involved with programmes not for self-glorification or fame and not for money, but to get blogging (weblog similar to what you are now reading) ‘out there’. The next step seems to be a bit of a leap, but the plan was made to gather a group together to record a cover version of the song 'Talking'bout my generation". The original group numbered between twenty and twenty-five (according to Peter) . I am not sure how they were selected, apparently some of them attended the two-day recording session with medics on hand. They recorded in the Abbey Road Recording studio, with the best recording people available, including help from the Fame Academy Voice Coaches.

The resultant release went way up in the charts in Britain and Europe, and all proceeds from the sales goes to Age Concern in Great Britian.

Since then they have appeared on television, toured in Germany and now number around fourty singers with an average age of 78.

Here is their website:

The Zimmers

Here is the video of the first song

Talkin' 'bout my generation

INsite article has appeared!!

2008-12-12T13:49:00.007+13:00

An article first written a year ago after I presented at the NZ Association of Gerontology's annual conference about the Hilda Ross Glee Club, and the Glee Club performed. The article 'fell under the radar', and it is even better that it appeared now as it ties on with the young at heart movie being viewed and my decision to give this area of research my full attention. Already the article has generated response. I have been invited to speak to the Retirement Villages Association quarterly retirement village forum in Mt Maunganui next March. I also need to start codifying my programme so that I can deliver it such a way that it is comprehensive and, able to be duplicated. Even over lunch discussions today here at the University I was hearing about singing at a retirement complex, which is a pianist playing ,and residents 'sing if you like', when my experience shows that singing in this context can be made so much richer for the participants, with exponential benefits to their wellbeing.

To reach the INsite magazine

I took a singing session with the Rest Home singers yesterday. I had not seen them for some weeks, with work commitments getting in the way, and they were delighted to see me, many telling me how much they had missed me. I attribute that to two things: the enjoyment that the singing engenders, but also that I interact with them, talk with them, get them to choose songs, joke with them, sing along with them, but also play and listen to them and admire their singing. Because they know (if they remember) that I do that, many of them put more energy into their singing. Nell is one of the Rest Home singers. I have put up a photo of her (age 89) and me at the Rest Home's Christmas dinner, at which I played piano.

Glee Club C.D.

2008-12-09T16:52:00.002+13:00

The Hilda Ross Glee Club spend last Thursday afternoon singing for three hours to try and complete our planned c.d. With the air conditioning being turned off because it was too noisy, and everyone dripping it was quite a marathon, but we hung in there. Because of technical problems four of the eleven songs need to be re-recorded, but by the end of this week the c.d. will be completed and in the hands of the participants. The c.d cover was designed at the weekend with help from my apple expert nephew-in-law Darren. When it is completed it will be sent to community and national radio station to see what the response is. I am very pleased with the overall result of the live recording, and it will be a good measure of the progress from year to year. Of note is that the average age of the Glee Club is 78.5, so they are 'younger' than the young'at'heart group :)

Silver Belles

2008-12-01T15:53:00.004+13:00

Five African-American women who danced in the clubs in Harlem during the second world war formed themselves into a group in 1985 and have been dancing their way into the limelight. Now aged 84 - 96 they are the feature of a movie entitled Been rich all my life which seems a bit of a parallel with young@heart, but with dancers rather than singers. The addition of racial tension makes their story that much more interesting.

The website for the Silver Belles

American Thanksgiving Concert: Hamilton Chorale

2008-12-01T12:18:00.008+13:00

Another concert series has come and gone for the (this concert) 25-voice Hamilton Chorale. It was a demanding programme, but we wowed two audiences with songs from George and Ira Gershwin, and Irving Berlin, culminating in God Bless America. Our soloist, June Dams, who also sang with us last year said that she noticed how much better the choir was , which was a fillip for us all.

The choir had gone through a torrid month leading up to this weekend's concerts, in which a husband of one member, a daughter of another member and a son of husband-and-wife members all passed away. All four choir members did sing in both concerts, and I will be seeking the whole choir's feedback on what singing in the choir has been for them this year, with particular interest in these four responses.

The choir really does act as a family, and everyone plays a part in rehearsals, with setting up the church's seats for the sections, providing me with water to drink, moving the piano and putting it away. Then for concerts, it is seating for the choir on the stage, moving the church's furniture off and on the stage area, and for our Sunday afternoon concert providing and setting up for afternoon tea for choir and audience. I have posted a delightful photograph of two of the choir's senior members, who set up and put away the tables for the afternoon tea, following our Sunday Concert.

Hilda Ross Glee Club Spring Concert

2008-11-06T16:05:00.006+13:00

This post comes with the ongoing euphoric feeling all performers experience, that comes with a performance. I have no doubt that the singers from today will be feeling it for the rest of the day. Today The Glee Club performed in front of their peers, and invited guests, an audience of 79, where extra chairs had to be put out three times!!

The seventeen women and men of the Glee Club sang well, their words were clear, their voices were strong, and the part singing was secure and most enjoyable in four of the songs that we performed.

A year ago there were twelve singers, and part work was not part of public performance. The repertoire of songs has also changed. Last year they were the songs that I considered might be old favourites, such as 'My grandfather's clock' 'Edelweiss' 'By the light of the silvery moon'. Today's concert included two ABBA songs, Mozart's Horn concerto with words by Flanders and Swann, and a song prepared for one singer's 90th birthday earlier this year: 'It is no secret', sung in three parts. I mentioned in another post that I have an expectation of improved singing technique and growing complexity of music in those groups with whom I work, and this group has shown the evidence of this expectation emphatically today.

The Glee Club is going to make a recording in early December, and today I was asked by members of the audience if the disc would be for sale... is this the beginning of a new journey for the Hilda Ross Glee Club? Rest assured I will keep you informed!

Hamilton Chorale data

2008-11-04T08:53:00.005+13:00

Having now taken identification from the members of the Chorale, I am excited about this new direction, but also aware that I do not want to view them differently, unless it is helpful to the Chorale to do otherwise.

The median age of the women is 66 and the median age of the men is 69. There are three people over 80, with eight people over 70. Three people have left the choir in the last year, I want to talk to them about what caused them to give up the choir, with my new lens of gerontology, rather than aggrieved conductor.

Now I have a delightful three-group setup

The Hamilton Chorale of fully independent participants
The Hilda Ross Glee Club with residential independent participants
The Hilda Ross Rest Home Singers with dependent singers.

Watch this space!!

I have now seen the movie young@heart

2008-11-03T14:07:00.009+13:00

I attended a showing of this movie last evening, and firstly let me say that I really enjoyed the movie. The absolute ebullience of the participant singers cannot be understated. Their enjoyment of the camaraderie, the performances, and the learning new things was refreshing and a joy to see, but not surprising for me, having seen such enthusiasm among the Glee Club, the Rest Home Singers and the Hamilton Chorale, with whom I work.

The videos that were designed for certain songs, using the participant singers, were very clever and entertaining: from the bowling alley to the fairground. Their team of instrumentalists is also fantastic, and give great support to the singers and the shows. Instrumentalists are part of the choir community rather than session musician brought in, the movie had an elderly violinist. The movie music track was, for me at times, too intrusive in the setting of mood for what purported to be a documentary.

What is also apparent from their website is that they have been producing shows since their second year of the formation of the group from members of an elderly housing project called the Walter Salvo house in Northampton, Massachusetts. New members have been attracted to the group as they have presented sell-out performances, initially in their own town and then in other towns and countries. They were linked early on to the No Theater and their expertise to put on that first show, and from there it grew 'like topsy' The story is delightful.

The young@heart story

A very moving event was the choir's performance at the local jail, where approx 40 men were being held in a minimum security setting. There were very real bonding moments between the two groups, instant grandparents for many of the men.

I note also that there is a big time commitment to this group, with 2-3 hr rehearsal once a week and three rehearsals a week when a show date is close, along with rehearsing at home with discs to learn the music off by heart. The final product is very entertaining, and very American.

The Choir of Unheard Voices

2008-10-30T15:23:00.000+13:00

This is a wonderful interview with singers and the conductor of a choir in northern Australia. Thank you to friend Brian Livings in Sydney for sending this site to me. While the singing is 'unique' as far as best practice is concerned, it is great to hear what the participants say, and what singing is doing for people in a different context. I wonder if this choir in a year's time will still be singing with 'flexible' intonation. If so I would see that as unfortunate. I have personally found that, in every setting, singers can improve. It's a bit like riding a bike, you keep doing it, you get better.

The Choir of Unheard Voices

Text from the above website:

Singing for Soul

Using the regional arts development fund given by the Mackay Regional Council the Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland have set up a unique way to cope with mental illness.

Known as 'The Choir of Unheard Voices' ABC reporter Daniel Hamilton went along to find out about the power of music.

The Hamilton Chorale joins my research

2008-10-22T21:42:00.000+13:00

I have been conductor of the Hamilton Chorale now for nearly two years, a community-based non-auditioned adult choir. In looking at my new direction I examined where this fitted in. In fact there is a good synergy, because many of the choir members are retired, and I know there is at least one 80-yr-old. I think that they have become used to my expectations and it will be interesting to compare and contrast the fully independent Chorale members and the Glee Club members; their motivations, their back stories and what singing in a choir does for them. In addition I want to contact the people who have left the Chorale recently, to hear their story.

Group Singing Is Good for You!

2008-10-21T16:29:00.001+13:00

According to an article in Medical Hypotheses, “Vibration of the human skull, as produced by loud vocalization, exerts a massaging effect on the brain and facilitates expulsion of metabolic products into the cerebrospinal fluid, leading neurophysicists to hypothesize that vocal vibrations cause a kind of cleaning of the chemical cobwebs out of the head. A process as simple as singing might well make the removal of chemical waste from the brain more efficient.

Medical Hypotheses Vol 25 Issue 1
Mechanical effect of vocalization on human brain and meninges

And according to a recent study by the University of California, Irvine, singing in a choir just might make you healthier. This study, authored by Robert Beck and Thomas Cesario and published in Music Perception, found that Immunoglobulin A, a protein used by the immune system to fight disease, increased 150 percent during rehearsals and 240 percent during performance.: Beck, R. J.; Cesario, T. C.; Yousefi, A.; Enamoto, H..
Music Perception, Fall 2000, Vol. 18 Issue 1,

There certainly is a sense of euphoria that choral singers experience after a particularly inspiring rehearsal or performance. But part of that sensation is due to more than just individual physiology; it derives from the cooperative effort that is at the heart of the choral endeavor. The late great conductor Robert Shaw thought of a chorus as a “community of _expression,” whose meaning “rests upon a common devotion to the composer’s utterance and a mutual respect for the personal dignity of fellow-workers.” Shaw’s associate, Ann Howard Jones enlarged on this idea. Noting that in a chorus the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts, she wrote, “I know of no other activity where access to the most profound artistic works can be made possible and satisfying for the participant who has limited skills as an individual but whose capacity is enlarged by the group.”

In one study, a health educator and music professor teamed up for a study published in England’s Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, in which they reported choral singing promoted not just physical health, but offered emotional and spiritual benefits as well. Using their own choir as a basis for their study, Dr. Stephen Clift and Grenville Hancox developed questionnaires to document physical and emotional feelings while singing. Singers reported improved lung capacity, high energy, relieved asthma, better posture, and enhanced feelings of relaxation, mood, and confidence. In a follow-up questionnaire, 89 percent of the singers reported intense happiness while singing, 79 percent felt less stressed, and 75 percent experienced heightened adrenaline and wakefulness.

NZ Association of Gerontology, Auckland AGM

2008-10-21T14:26:00.001+13:00

I was pleased to present at the annual meeting of the NZAG Auckland branch on Monday October 20th. What is a strong aspect of my research is the use of participant voice, and I was able to present them with the findings from five groups, with a total of 96 participants and over 50 respondents. As well as the findings they were able to view video footage of the Hilda Ross Glee Club, taken when they performed at the School of Education, University of Waikato September 2007. My own observation of that footage was how much their singing had improved in the subsequent year, and that is another strong aspect of my work; that there is an expectation in every group that their singing will improve, in such ways as breathing and tone.

Lively discussion followed the presentation, and the attendees willingly participated in an impromptu singing lesson, as the discussion moved to their own singing. I look forward to interacting more with the NZGA Auckland branch.

young@heart

2008-10-21T14:00:00.001+13:00

The content of the movie young@heart is matching experiences happening here in Hamilton, New Zealand. The Hilda Ross Glee Club has been active now for two years, not the 15 years that the Young@heart group had been functioning. But in that time the Glee Club has performed for their peers, and for outside audiences on average of 4 times a year. In 2007 they were guest performers at the Gerontology Conference in Hamilton, and were featured on National Radio. This group is formed from the people who occupy the villas at this Ryman Healthcare facility.

I also work with the Resthome Singers at the same facility, and the joy that they show in their singing is heartwarming.

Tomorrow I go to speak at the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Association of Gerontology's annual meeting, and my topic is my Hilda Ross groups. To flesh out this presentation, I asked my Glee Club members last week to tell me the benefits they found in singing in the Glee Club, and in the process found out so much more of their back-stories:

* Harry sang as a child, then spent 3 years in a prisoner of war camp and didn't sing afterwards. He moved, with his wife, to New Zealand, and never sang in church. Now he can sing higher than before, and his wife reports that he sings in church now!
* Wally stopped singing 20 years ago when his wife of 48 yrs died. he has just turned 90 and he thinks that he sings better than ever now
* Keith has always been interested in music and being involved in the Glee Club has broadened his knowledge about music and has improved his singing.
* Cecilia has Parkinson's disease which has affected her voice, and the singing has helped her control those effects.
* Pauline has found that her lung capacity has improved greatly after losing part of a lung, and she has a wonderful uplifted joyful feeling at the end of our practices.
* Ngaire takes Glee Club as her time out. She has a husband with multiple sclerosis, and she enjoys this time and thoroughly enjoys singing.
* Betty finds the rehearsals are wonderful therapy, 'fantastic, it just does something for you, you feel a bit blue and you start singing and it's wonderful'.
* Elizabeth has a chronic lung complaint, and it is really a joy to sing and it improves her breathing.
* Tui has had her enjoyment of singing renewed, and she leaves the rehearsal feeling like she has had a tonic.

For my first post I will leave you with their voices.