A choral singer visits a contemporary sound installation inspired by a centuries-old piece of music.

A shared passion for singing led Ben Olinsky and his friends to create the 18th Street Singers, a Washington DC-based volunteer ensemble. Over the past nine years, the group has changed in size and membership, but the goal has remained the same: to make choral music more accessible to a new generation of audiences. 

The power of group singing to elevate mood and forge relationships can help people weather challenges and face life’s ups and downs.

When Melinda Pollack-Harris was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, she needed music to face the challenge. That was the inspiration for Sing to Live Community Chorus for women, loved ones, and friends touched by cancer.

How can we share the wellness benefits of choral singing with a broader community? A growing number of choral leaders are looking at ways to extend the group singing experience beyond the concert hall.

Singer and composer Melanie DeMore enjoys nothing more than gathering together a group of people and forming a spontaneous choir. “I think that singing in a community allows people to have a certain bigness that they cannot have in a solitary way,” she says. In this Chorus America interview, DeMore talks about the importance of spreading the gift of choral singing far and wide.