Midwinter Musical Gift

Midwinter Musical Gift Dear Friend Wishing You All A Very Magical Midwinter It hasn’t snowed here yet, but here’s my take on an enchanting snowy song of yesteryear as a midwinter gift click here to listen and watch I’d also love to invite you to join us at a very special Midwinter Peace event, A Gift of Peace at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation on 21st December. Details follow below. With seasonal songs and sounds for a peaceful midwinter

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A Gift of Peace A Special Midwinter Peace Event Now more than ever there is an urgent need to create peace in our lives. To do this we need to nurture peace within ourselves first, so that our actions become less destructive and more altruistic, which in turn creates more happiness. And as we develop ways to develop inner peace, we also learn ways to cope with the external chaos in the world. Featuring FILM - A Screening of Road To Peace A film about the Dalai Lama and his powerful message of peace - presented by Director Leon Stuparich This award-winning film embarks on an extraordinary journey with one of the most celebrated humanitarians of all time, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, sharing a radical vision of how we can create lasting peace within ourselves and on a global level. Click here for Trailer MUSIC - Songs for Peace - Raise Your Voice with Katie Rose Katie loves singing and helping people sing - she believes that singing together is a medium for making peace within ourselves and each others. She has composed three albums and composed a piece for Road to Peace, Love and Compassion More info at The Rose Window - www.therosewindow.org DIALOGUE, PANEL & Q&A - How do we create inner-peace and learn ways to cope with the chaos in the world? Featuring a panel of special guests including * Leon Stuparich, Director of Road to Peace, * Dr Sheikh Ramzy -  Imam, Director of Iqra Islamic institute, Peace Ambassador for Universal Peace Federation, Member of UN association, Chair of Ed Com Muslim Council of Britain, * Wallee McDonnell of Celebrate Life Events. Other special guests TBA Join us to learn how we can all create a more peaceful environment within ourselves, our homes and in our wider community. Monday 21st December, 3-6pm St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace 78 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG Tickets £10/ £5 concessions Tickets available from Eventbrite https://giftofpeace.eventbrite.com

Winter Warmer Newsflash

Winter Warmer Newsflash Dear Friend Midwinter is fast approaching so here’s some warming thoughts and an invitation to come and keep warm at forthcoming festive events. World Warming If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it. - Lucy Larcom Having a big party in midwinter to gather together, eat, drink and be merry is a wonderful warming idea that many cultural traditions observe.   A time of goodwill encourages us to think beyond our own concerns and towards a world very much in need of peace. Caring for more vulnerable members of society or giving to charity may also be higher in our awareness, as we reflect on how we can all do our bit.  I love seeing singers raise their voice for causes - from fundraising concerts to carol singing from door to door. Keep On Moving, Don’t Stop But whatever his weight in pounds, shillings, and ounces, He always seems bigger because of his bounces.  - Winnie the Pooh’s poem about Tigger It’s really important to keep active - nice as it is to curl up inside, moving stokes the inner fires.  I recently attended a Body Preparation for Voice Workshop with Darian Pritchard and Frankie Armstrong which emphasised the importance of connecting with our bodies - Darian reminded us that joints do not produce lubricating fluid unless we move.  What we do for our bodies naturally influences other aspects of our wellbeing - we gain confidence when we stand tall and relax our shoulders.  So it’s vital to engage in movement practices that keep us strong and encourage us to be our biggest selves - be that yoga, dance, running, walking, sports, Tigger bouncing… :) Warm up, stay up! What seems impossible today will one day become your warm up It’s amazing how many of us can be resistant to taking care of our bodies - even just a simple warm up at the start of choir practice can make people run for the hills.  This is ultimately a form of low self-esteem - an inability to take good care of ourselves and our vehicle for life.  We are encouraged to run our bodies on the quick fixes, fast food and sedentary lifestyles continually sold to us by the media.  What is amazing is how quickly our bodies respond to high quality fuel - even just ten minutes of stretching, sounding and shaking can do wonders - restoring our energy, vitality and presence - our Tigger glow :) Wishing you the warmest of winters (or summers - if you’re down under :)

Rising Through Challenge

Dear Friend
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
- Maya Angelou, Still I Rise

Here in London as the leaves fall and temperatures drop, there is, despite the wide autumn skies, a sense of seasonal closing-in which is both cosy and chilling.  The technicolour swirl of flaming leaves and laughing pumpkin faces brings a glow to misty mornings and lengthening nights.  This big old city continues whirring away, relentlessly defiant of the turning of seasonal tides, which is both exhausting and exhilarating in turn.  Finding the energy to rise whilst all is falling can be challenging at any time of life.  These are some of the strategies I’m calling on right now.

Inspiration
This week I was honoured to attend Magdalene Adenaike’s wonderful event From Shame to Strength - which featured truly inspirational women speakers who had overcome traumas including teen pregnancy, domestic violence and sexual abuse and had gone on to become leaders in their communities, empowering and encouraging others.  It reminded me how uplifting it is to receive inspiration and be around people who both say it how it is and aim for better than how it is.  

Nature’s Banquet
The natural glow of autumnal trees and mellow sunshine brings on a grow in my spirits - so getting outdoors for a good stamp around is like pressing reset.  I’m lucky to be able to visit my family who live surrounded by fields - an afternoon picking up fallen apples and playing with my baby nephew gets me back into the moment and is essential city respite.  

Penguin Principle
Huddling is an ancient remedy for cold, dark times. Clustering with birds of a feather brings on better inner weather. Singing together is even better - yet another study has demonstrated that singing in choirs is one of the best ways to make friends and stay happy, as having a healthy social network has been shown to be a significant factor in longevity. I’m continually affirmed and warmed by the connections I find with those I sing with.

Focus
It’s so easy to become dizzy in the distracting whirl of communication from all directions. Staying focussed is a daily job, to centre the mind in one place and to set clear intent for the days and tasks ahead.  Somedays it all may seem to go awry and even our good intentions may seem to lead us into mazes.  Bringing it all back to what really matters and what we really want allows us to realign our internal Sat Nav and move on again.

Lightening Up…. enLightening...
Lastly of course it’s important to kick up the leaves and find the lightness that plays through even our teardrops.  On the other side of the sobs is a smile, one that has risen through falling and grown wise with the bittersweet love affair that life can be.

Wishing you a beautiful banquet of a November

The Inclusive Voice

Earth at Night   The Inclusive Voice Dear Friend I’ve just had an amazing week singing for Peace with many wonderful singers of all ages and backgrounds - which once again affirmed to me what a powerful medium singing is for creating peace together as it both affirms our expression as very diverse individuals whilst bringing us together in an inclusive activity.  I’ve also very much enjoyed listening to the #WhyMusic? programmes on Radio 3 this weekend, which explored the immense power of music in settings ranging from therapy to torture. Everyone has a voice, everyone is musical It takes that one voice and everyone will sing - Barry Manilow Whatever we tell ourselves about our musical or singing abilities, we are actually all inherently musical - our bodies whirr with rhythms, pulses and processes that have sound at their core, like our heartbeat, or create sound as a byproduct, such as the gurgle of our guts as they digest.  The very building blocks of our anatomy vibrate with sound frequencies, meaning that we are all made of sound. This is contrary to what many people were told at school, where they may have been told to mime or be quiet, whilst others were selected as being ‘musical.’  I witness time and time again, people’s utter delight at being reunited with their own inherent musicality - which was, of course, there all along. Musical Biography We really got the sense that people were selecting musical styles to like that match their own personality - Professor Adrian North, Music Psychologist We all have a musical biography composed of all sorts of influences, environments and conditions - including the musical forms we were exposed to in our families, schools, workplaces, faiths or cultures.   This shapes our experience of music - from our assessment of our own musical abilities to our musical preferences.  Folks flock together with friends of a similar musical feather - there are Rock, Pop, Gospel, Church, Chamber, Classical and Community Choirs to name just a few.  In this way we use music to create a sense of identity and connection with others. Musical Biology I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water. -  Ray Charles We may prefer some forms of music, yet beyond our Musical Biography, our bodies respond to music powerfully - our heart rates increase in response to rapid music, whilst slower music may send us to sleep.  This biological response is inclusive of everyone - I have witnessed people without hearing and sight responding powerfully to the vibrations of musical instruments. Music Meets Us Where We Are You can find me where the music meets the oceans - Zac Brown Band One of the principles I learned working with children and adults with special needs was to meet them in their own worlds - which involved affirming and mirroring their expression - from the twitch of a finger to a loud vocalisation.  Speaking on Music is Medicine, Music Therapist Simon Procter and Psychologist Adam Ockleford both affirmed that music-making begins with meeting the person where they are, before opening up new possibilities in relating, communication and expression.  Music is the meeting point between our individuality (In Here) and the vast oceans of the universal - (The Big Out There) Music is a language beyond language Music is too precise to express in Words - Mendelssohn One of the magical things about music is that it involves many other brain functions other than conceptual and language skills.  Scans have shown that areas across the brain light up during music-making.  Adam Ockleford describes music as a safe space for those with autism who may feel threatened or unable to respond to language. Aaron William, speaking on Feeling Music, described how music mimics the more universal sounds and vocalisations of emotion - sad music tends to be slower, smoother and includes falling sounds - similar to moaning Music caters for all emotions Music makes me feel too small for my heart - Enora -response to Why Music? Music in all its diverse forms, is able to meet every known emotion and mood.  Aaron Williams also described an Australian study which demonstrated that those who listened to extreme metal music found that it helped them to process anger and left them feeling inspired afterwards.  Listening to sad music has also been found to have beneficial effects on emotional wellbeing.  In music-making our feelings flow enabling us to feel connected to ourselves and others in inspiring, inclusive and uplifting ways. Wishing you a magical October

World Wellbeing - One Breath, One Song At A Time

Dear Friend

September is shaping up to be a momentous month for me - I’m conducting a song for the mass choir fundraising event Sing for Water, celebrating World Peace Day with Croydon Community Choir and beginning an exciting new journey as MD of Singing in the City.  What these projects share is a commitment to using song to make a contribution, personally and collectively to the wellbeing of our world. This has long been my raison d’etre and my ongoing question - how can sound and song bring about positive change? - so here’s some thoughts from where I’m up to so far.

Artwork: Circles on the Water by Elina V. Kovach

Ringing the Changes
Ch-ch-changes - turn and face the strain - David Bowie
There’s much talk about changing the world and being the change you wish to see in the world. The world is always changing and so are we, so that’s not actually difficult. Sometimes, however, we are compelled to make a conscious stand - to be courageous, tenacious or downright determined - to turn and face the strain and call for ch-ch-changes.  This is where song can be a powerful medium of communication, as Charlotte Church demonstrated this week when she sang This Bitter Earth at the Greenpeace protest outside Shell HQ saying
This song just felt so appropriate to why I came here today. I wanted to capture the sorrow and regret that feels tied up with the melting ice, and the bitter irony of Arctic oil drilling.

Stretching from Strength
Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet. - Jeremy Bentham
I’ve always believed in saying yes to things that stretch me (quickly before I have time to think about it) because to stretch is to grow.  Some stretches of course can be more pleasurable than others and all will involve a certain degree of discomfort - growing pains.  These can be alleviated when we stretch from a strong foundation - just like a tree stretching its branches towards the light draws strength from its roots. What these might be are personal to each of us -  we may anchor ourselves in our passions, convictions, intentions, values or our creative or spiritual practice - but importantly, our roots are also changing and growing in the deeper parts of ourselves. This way we are strong and flexible, committed and yielding.

Communities of Change
Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world.  For, indeed, that's all who ever have. - Margaret Mead
When we are willing to stretch ourselves we can encourage others, especially when they are looking a bit scared standing on the edge of their next big change.  A singing group or choir is effectively that - a bunch of people who have decided they are willing to learn and grow together.  With that commitment there is no end to the possibilities available.  In 2002 Helen Chadwick had a dream to raise £1000 for WaterAid at the Thames Festival, now in 2015 Sing for Water events run across and beyond the UK and have raised over half a milllion pounds for lifesaving projects. This is the power of a community of change in action.

Legacies of Learning
I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, 'I love you.' I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I've done my job in a world that's getting colder and colder by the day. - Lionel Richie
What starts with one person’s dream or vision can ripple out beyond them - to their friends, families, communities - and future generations.  When we take a stand and sing our song there’s no saying where it will lead us and who it will connect us to. This can seem vast - and it is - yet it unfolds in the moment, one breath, one note, one sound, one song at a time.

Wishing you a wonderful adventure of a September

39 Blessings

Laughing and singing this week at the Royal Brompton Hospital
Photo: Karen Taylor RB&H Arts

39 Blessings
The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God - if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That's what I think. - Maya Angelou

Dear Friend
Here’s me counting my blessings on my birthday of all the amazing things that happened in the last year…with gratitude to everyone and everything I’ve encountered along the way.

If you’d like to help pay the blessings forward do throw a few pennies in my virtual bucket as I’m conducting a song at Sing for Water this year - all funds go to WaterAid lifesaving projects in Ghana - click here for more information...

1) Making it into my 39th year on the planet… 2) Thanks to YOU too for blessing the planet with your presence and reading this :) 3) Bless our beautiful planet 4) Blessing my family for their love, patience and fun - being an Auntie to my baby nephew Ollie is definitely top of the pops.

5) Blessing up all my amazing friends for their love and support
6) Singing - it uplifts me and brings me into connection with so many amazing people
7) Singing with my Dad at our Heartsong group for Cardiac Friends makes my heart happy.
8) I’ve been so touched by seeing the profound benefits of singing for respiratory and cardiac patients in the Royal Brompton & Harefield, Whittington & St George’s Hospitals
9) Co-facilitating wonderfully diverse, uplifting workshops with Catherine Pestano of CRISP - looking forward to relaunching of Croydon Community Choir in the Autumn
10) I’ve loved reminiscing, drinking tea and learning songs with Bluehouse Singing Group
11) Joyous singing with the heroes and heroines who care at Croydon Carers Support Centre
12) The wonderfully supportive Forest Hill Singers who’ve been singing with me for years.
13) Taking part in Sing for Water and making a songful splash with the ThankYou Scratch choir at the WaterAid AGM
14) Being appointed the new MD of Singing in the City recently is totally amazing and I’m really looking forward to an exciting autumn of singing with them.
15) Working slowly but surely towards releasing my next album… watch this space
16) Singing at the launch of the Road to Peace Pilgrimage
17) Guest spots at choirs - Sydenham Singers, Caterham Comm Choir, The Great Gustos
18) Being part of the nourishing Natural Voice Practitioners Network
19) All the amazing singing practitioners I am honoured to know and learn from - Helen Chadwick, Roxane Smith, Jo Foster, Angela Reith, Janna Goodwille, Phoene Cave, Kirsty Martin, Sarah Fisher.
20) Men who sing and encourage other men to sing - Chris Rowbury, The Spooky Men’s Chorale, Chaps Choir and of course my Dad.
21) Taking the inner journey with clients, honoured to work with such brave creative individuals who are transforming their lives and following their dreams
22) Extraordinary experiences of Sound Healing with therapists at Holistic Healing College and Mind Body and Soul Too
23) Composing music for inspirational Stewart Pearce’s extraordinary album of meditations.
24) Working with innovative visual artist Jayne Wilton on Breathe projects
25) The Jedi genius of photographer and musician Rob Wilson Jnr of Fluid4Sight
26) Radioplay from Peter Coulston, Croydon Radio, Avril Price
27) Hanging out on the virtual sofa with magical Simon On The Sofa
28) Writing my blogs and also articles for The Croydon Citizen and fROOTS Magazine
29) Reading novels and listening to music transforms the time I spend on London Transport
30) Attending inspirational live gigs by wonderful choirs and musicians
31) I love living in Crystal Palace - the community spirit here makes thing happen!
32) I’ve become proud to be Croydonian and loved the Ambition and Purley Festivals
33) Love having coconut truffle tea, hanging out and going to events at Matthews Yard.
34) Tea - especially when accompanied by illuminating conversations with dear friends
35) Dancing - big love to my Zumba massive and Laughing Yogi Joe Hoare for sharing my crazy love of dancing.
36) Amazing practitioners who bring joy, wisdom and love to life including Ciara Jean Roberts, Esther Austin, Barefoot Doctor
37) The poetry of Raficq Abdulla and Fathieh Saudi
38) The life and love of my dear friend Linda who passed this year
39) The great wide unknown stillness from where all the singing comes and goes.

With love and blessings

Harmonious Expression

Harmonious Expression “In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism, skepticism and humbug, and we shall want to live more musically.” - Vincent Van Gogh Dear Friend For many of us our voice is a crucial part of our daily activity and the boom in mobile phone technology demonstrates the strength of our desire to feel connected and in communication with each other. Here’s a few thoughts on the qualities of harmonious expression. Intention This basically means being very clear about WHY we are sounding/singing/ speaking. Intention brings connection to our deeper levels of awareness and motivation and produces clarity of communication.  If I waffle on about something without really knowing why it’s important to me, I will sound disconnected and boring.  If I am transparent about my intent to resolve an issue, my communication will be clear and invite others to connect with me. Embodiment Our voice is an instrument that resides within our bodies.  It is intimately connected to all levels of our wellbeing and is supported by a healthy diet, regular exercise and relaxation practices. Helpful exercises include those that encourage deep breathing, open posture and a relaxed body - allowing our voice to become fully embodied and resonant. Spontaneity Every act of expression involves a level of risk-taking - venturing into the unknown, not knowing how we will be received.  Some expressions such as  ‘can you pass the salt?’ are low risk, whereas giving a speech to a crowded conference or raising a difficult issue with a partner raises the stakes.  The way to befriend this is to connect with our spontaneity - the most alive part of us that loves taking risks because it knows that is how we grow, through fully experiencing the present moment.  Recalling what we loved doing as children - splashing in puddles or climbing up trees - helps us reconnect with our spontaneity, as does playing games and meditating.  Spontaneity brings us into a focussed yet expansive state, allowing us to be playful, creative, self-aware and receptive. Rhythm The tempo of our expression marks it out in time and space - if we are person who is anxious about time or taking up airspace we may rush our speech, whereas if we are loose around time we may find ourselves getting into prolonged conversations or running overtime in presentations.  Breathing exercises can be really helpful here, enabling us to regulate our pace - as can dancing or rhythm games that heighten our awareness and enjoyment of our movement through time and space. Harmony Every expression takes place in a context and community - even if we are whistling alone whilst walking a country path, our whistle is part of a soundscape that includes rustling leaves, scurrying insects and tweeting birds.   Harmonising involves being true to our own unique sound whilst blending it with everything around us - we may raise our voice in a noisy bar or whisper in a quiet place of worship.  In choral singing we learn to blend with those around us, developing a stereophonic listening that allows us to both hear ourselves and attune to the sound of the whole group.  This emphasises that expression is as much about listening as it is as sounding and that fine tuning our inner and outer listening enables us to communicate harmoniously. Wishing you a happy and harmonious July