Shelter House, U of Iowa professor Mary Cohen create new choir

University of Iowa students, faculty and community volunteers
are partnering with residents and staff at the Shelter House in
Iowa City to share a mutual love of singing.

Participants of a newly created Shelter House Choir are
gathering from 5 to 6 p.m. Fridays now through the end of April as
part of a pilot partnership.

“I wanted to start a choir for people who are homeless ever
since I came to Iowa,” said Mary Cohen, an assistant professor of
music education with a joint appointment in the UI Colleges of
Education and Liberal Arts and Sciences. “This choir provides
opportunities for all of us to broaden our social
relationships.”

The new Shelter House facility at 429 Southgate Ave. has a
classroom near the first-floor common area where participants sing
together.

Cohen said the choir is unique because participants can vary
from week to week. She also believes the choir has the potential to
build valuable bridges between different groups of people who
otherwise might not have the chance to connect.

“Through my work with the Oakdale Prison Choir, I have learned
that bringing two disparate groups together to form one choir is a
safe and easy way to build bridges and learn about one another,”
she said. “It can give both groups a sense of self-esteem. In my
opinion, the Iowa City community has many separate pockets of
people who rarely interact. Perhaps this project will prove this
opinion incorrect, or even change this opinion.”