Sing to Beat

Whatever your age, there are many benefits to singing in a group. They include many which are health related and there are many papers to support this, as well as the opportunity to get out, meet new people and form new friendships. 

Canterbury Cantata Trust is working locally to run and support local singing groups which enable a range of people to sing regularly and their Amici Chorus is a large community choir which meets weekly in Canterbury. They also run Monday Music which is a group that also meets weekly as a mental, spiritual and vocal workout for improved wellbeing.

Sing to Beat Parkinson’s is an initiative by the Trust which is supporting people with Parkinson’s Disease and this has now grown to include 20 groups and they are aiming for 50 by the end of 2020, across the country.

The Sing to Beat brand is increasingly connected with broader singing health and wellbeing groups that don’t have a Parkinson’s focus such as a new group with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

The Trust is in receipt of a five-year grant of £50k per year from Oak Foundation, which will enable them to spread the Sing to Beat groups more widely. The initial plan is to strengthen their regional presence in Kent and aim to ensure that no-one in Kent is more than 20 miles from a Singing and Health group by the end of 2021.

Blair Gulland is a trustee of the Canterbury Cantata Trust and comments: “The Trust enables people of all ages to sing for pleasure, for health, friendship and for the enjoyment of others through events and performances. There are groups to suit many people, so an opportunity for a wide number of people in the county to get involved.”

Further details about groups and events can be found at www.canterburycantatatrust.org.uk/