After resting their vocal cords since the pandemic first took hold, Valley Voices are excited to sing again.
Tammy Flett, the director of the choir, has spent her career as a music teacher in elementary schools. Twenty years ago, she became one of the group’s founding members and has been the director ever since.
Flett says the normal number of people in the group is around 40 members, but since the pandemic, they have around 15 members who would like to return. To help boost that number, two registration sessions will be held at the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre on September 12 and 19 at 6:45 p.m.
There are no requirements for joining the choir, she says. Some experience with singing is an asset, but it doesn’t make or break anything.
“They don’t have to be able to read music, we’ll help them with that, says Flett.
“We don’t do auditions, and we’re really great at sharing how to read music,” says Pam Baker, a long-standing member of the choir.
In the past, the group has brought in guests to work with the choir, including a harpist and a cellist. Flett says they sing a wide range of music from The Beatles to Handel’s Messiah.
Baker says she misses singing with the group. She says being surrounded by others who enjoy singing is a great experience. Many people become comfortable because they are with a group of accepting singers, she says.
This is a fact backed up by science, says Flett. She says studies have shown time and again that there are physical and mental health benefits associated with singing. Singing has been shown to help with cognition, breathing, diction, and speech.
There is also a social impact for people who sing in groups. Along with the mental health benefits of spending time with others, she says some studies have shown those mental benefits can be measured physically.
“They’ve even proven that when you’re singing in a choir, everybody’s heart rate as you’re singing will come together and everybody’s heartbeat will be at the same rate.”
Flett says she encourages everyone to sing if they can. She says anyone who believes they can’t join Valley Voices because they can’t sing is likely incorrect.
“People think they can’t sing, but it’s just that they haven’t been shown how to,” she says. “There are people that are medically tone deaf, but they are very few and far between.”
Baker says new members will be integrated into the group based on their vocal ranges. Because of this, they will be surrounded by others who can help them.
Flett says they will help train those who need as much as they can with the time they have.
Baker says she loves the sense of community she experiences with the choir. Everyone shares a common passion, and it brings them closer together.
