Welcome back.
I found these two articles online over the summer. It's nothing revelatory to a choir director, but having science support us by showing the effects of singing in choir always helps. The first article is the most interesting to me:
Researchers in Sweden monitored the heart rates of singers as they performed a variety of choral works. They found that as the members sang in unison, their pulses began to speed up and slow down at the same rate.
How cool is that! I wasn't surprised by the results of this study, but it wasn't something that I "knew." I imagine that many of us will be using the results of this study in our impromptu motivational speeches to our choirs and our audiences throughout the year. Link. Abstract.
The second article is, for most of us, common knowledge. But still, the more scientific evidence we have to support our profession, the better. From Time Magazine:
As the popularity of group singing grows, science has been hard at work trying to explain why it has such a calming yet energizing effect on people. What researchers are beginning to discover is that singing is like an infusion of the perfect tranquilizer, the kind that both soothes your nerves and elevates your spirits.
There's much more in this article, which is basically a snapshot of all of the research available on the physiological effects of choral singing. For us, it is more direct evidence of the positive effects of choral singing. Link. via A Cappella News.
Good luck with your preparations for the new year.
Update: I guess the author of the Time article already posted about her article here. Either way, check it out.
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