Rock Choirs bring good vibrations to members going through dark times
IN lashing Glasgow rain, their black T-shirts soaked through and their hair drenched, a group of women and men gathered on the steps of the city’s Royal Concert Hall to sing their hearts out.
On a day made for rushing inside to dry out, shoppers instead stopped in their tracks.
For those who paused to listen, the impromptu performance may simply have been a curiosity.
Yet in front of their eyes, small miracles were unfolding. For amid the melodies and the hand jive accompaniments were lives scarred by insecurities and anxieties, mental health problems, grief, hardship and illness – all being mended by the power of song.
First launched in 2005, Rock Choirs have sprung up across the country, combining the joy of singing with a unique social experience that has proved remarkably effective at helping to reboot people facing the darkest of times, forging friendships and just injecting a highly infectious “feel good factor”.
Now in its 15th year, the Uk-wide Rock Choir movement has just surpassed 30,000 members, making it the largest choir of its kind in the world. In Scotland, there are more than 30 individual choirs, stretching from Inverurie to Ayr, Forfar to Largs, and Giffnock – where the choir has around 160 members – to Glenrothes.
While not every singer has encountered a major life crisis, for those that have, the chance to shake it off by belting out Abba’s Super Trouper or Leonard Cohen’s rousing Hallelujah with a crowd of strangers often has staggering and unexpected benefits.
Lisa Kerr, 29, whose life has been overshadowed by a rare brain condition that has left her disfigured and with learning difficulties, was among those who sang on the Concert Hall steps.
“I was buzzing afterwards,” she said. “I’ve gone to choir practice some days stressed out of my box, but when I’m there I can switch off.”
As well as the adrenalin rush of the performance and the confidence boost, the choir brings an important additional benefit. Lisa was born with the rare condition Hemimegalenencephaly (HME), which has affected the left side of her face. It has left her with epilepsy, visual impairment, dental problems and requiring about a dozen major operations.
“My physiotherapist told me laughing and smiling is a good way to exercise but it’s hard to do that when you’re feeling rubbish,” she said. “So singing is really beneficial.”
For some, practising and performing with Giffnock’s Rock Choir has bordered on being lifesaving.
“I’ve had a lot of serious depressive episodes and one suicide attempt,” said Kimberley Wilson-norrie, 39. “I love to sing, but performing was something I did at school.
“I wanted to find my voice again but never thought I’d have confidence to perform beyond a drunken karaoke performance.”
She was at her lowest when she encountered a Rock Choir performance. Enthralled, she signed up and started singing her way to feeling better.
“You come back from a choir session quite euphoric, it’s the best happy you can get,” she said. “There’s a feel-good factor to it. Something like singing sounds so simple.”
Rock Choir leader Elaine Williamson looks after the choirs in Glasgow, Kirkintilloch, Newton Mearns and Edinburgh and sees the impact singing has on lives. “You see people’s confidence building, friendships grow. It provides a sense of community for people,” she said.
According to the British Lung Foundation, there is growing evidence that singing regularly as a part of a group is good for general health and wellbeing and can improve lung health.
For Mary Mcauley, 60, a member of the Kirkintilloch Rock Choir, singing has brought joy as she comes to terms with the trauma of eye cancer.
“I feel wonderful after I have been singing, it’s so uplifting,” she said. “Cancer is still in my body, and singing is my therapy.
It makes me happy.”