Dear Vocalisters:
A friend of mine passed this one on to me. As she said, it's nice to know that something I enjoy so much is good for me!
>From the Boston Globe 3/31/01 > >Joy of singing in a choir could be preventive medicine, researchers say > >By Marla Jo Fisher Knight Ridder , 3/31/2001 > >IRVINE, Calif. - Singing in a choir might just make you healthier, >according to a newly publicized study by the University of California, >Irvine. > >Researchers found increased levels of disease-fighting proteins in the >mouths of choir members after they sang Beethoven's choral masterwork, >''Missa Solemnis.'' > >According to the study, a protein used by the immune system to fight >disease called Immunoglobulin A increased 150 percent during rehearsals >and 240 percent during performance. The boost seemed directly related to >the singers' states of mind, which many participants described as happy or >euphoric. > >''The more passionate you feel while singing, the greater the effect,'' >said education professor Robert Beck, who authored the study >with Thomas Cesario, dean of the university's College of Medicine. >The study was published this school year in the scientific journal >Music Perception. > >The difference in the increased levels between a performance and >rehearsal, scientists theorized, might be because the singers had achieved >mastery of the complicated piece after often-stressful >rehearsals and also were enjoying the thrill of the performance itself. > >That makes perfect sense to baritone Steve Morris, a member of the Santa >Ana, Calif.-based Pacific Chorale who participated in the study and has a >deeply emotional reaction to performing. > >'Afterward, I'm floating,'' said Morris, 61, a member of choir with his >wife, Ann, since 1969. ''I feel terrific. There have been many times going >into a concert when I'm fighting a cold or have a sore throat, >but I managed to show up and do the performance, and I'm higher than a >kite when it's over.'' > >Researchers attended two rehearsals and a performance of the 160-member >Pacific Chorale over an eight-week period, as the choir prepared for and >sang Beethoven's complex masterwork of sacred music. > >They used cotton swabs to collect saliva, which contains the immune >protein, from some 32 volunteer choir members, before and after singing, >and analyzed the results. > >This story ran on page 5 of the Boston Globe on 3/31/2001. >© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
-- Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA "Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile" mailto:peggyh@i...
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