I found an interesting article today, on the health benefits of singing in a choir. The article was written by a health educator and a music professor, and is called “Choral Singing Beneficial for Body and Soul.” It was published by the England’s Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. “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.”
Having this blog has reconnected us to people far and wide, and it’s especially nice when former choristers contact us and remember the music from LCH. Today we heard from Karen Olson, who sang in the LCH choir about 20 years ago, and attended medical school at the University of Hawaii at the time. She wrote this to Carol Langner:
I think of you all more often than you could possibly imagine. I found Carl’s channel on Youtube, and really enjoy hearing the Psalms. I think, ‘Wow. The choir has been singing them now for more than twenty years, since the last time I sang with the choir.’ I attended a Unity church in St. Petersburg for many years for family reasons, and have finally found a Lutheran church near me with a very active choir. Life is good.
I toyed with the idea of flying to Honolulu for the Mass in B minor, but cannot–no big surprise there!
I would love to hear what happening with you. I feel as if all of you in the choir have been woven into the fabric of who I am. Time has elapsed and the distance is great, but you are all in my heart and my prayers.
I posted this picture before, but I’m posting it again so you can see Karen Olson: She’s the tall blonde in the second row, all the way to the right. This picture was taken in 1992 at the American Choral Directors Association conference in Honolulu. (If you want to know all the identities of the people in the picture, please click here).
