Mum’s the word….

On Friday 9^th March, we had the privilege of performing once more at St Michael’s Bramhall. The evening’s events raised over £400.00 in support of a very worthy cause – the Mill Youth Centre.

At  this concert marking the beginning of the Mothering Sunday weekend, we had a very welcome guest, poet Florence Remmer  (pictured, left), who is the mother of one of the members of our choir.  Florence recited one of her excellent poems, about the ‘choir’ of the dawn chorus heralding Spring.  It was also Florence’s birthday and she was quite delighted when we sang an impromptu ‘Happy Birthday’. We also had  Angela’s wonderfully well-behaved four month old grandson in the audience. We were all provided with shining examples of the important bond between a mother and her offspring; so evident it was almost tangible. Everyone knows the importance of good and loving family relationships and appreciate the joys children can bring; although not everyone is lucky enough to experience such beneficial relationships in their own immediate family.

Our Choir operates very much like a family, with like-mindedness, and cooperation in making music together. Also, we have the culture of a happy family with genuine care and support for each other. Being part of a choir is not just about the singing; it offers important psycho-social support to each one of us; especially for the older members of the choir.

There is evidence which confirms how valuable such a family culture amongst friends may be, especially in our later years. The findings of two studies (one examined 270,000 people in nearly 100 countries and the other looked at 7,500  older Americans) were reported  in a recent edition of the scholarly journal, ‘Personal Relationships’. Author William Chopik was somewhat surprised to discover that both family and friend relationships were associated with better health and happiness overall. But at advanced ages, the link remained only for people who reported strong friendships. It is now clear that friends become increasingly important to health and happiness as people age.  Chopik found that having supportive friendships in old age is very crucial; they provide a stronger predictor of well-being than having strong family connections.

Added to the health and well being benefits of our musical activities, the family atmosphere of a choir clearly means so much to individual well-being. We are so lucky to have our choir!

At St Michael’s, we received excellent feedback from an appreciative audience. Hopefully our concerts have a positive impact on the well-being of those who attend our concerts.  Please do come along and enjoy our wide and varied repertoire at our forthcoming events: