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York Wellbeing Choir

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A Wellbeing Choir is like a regular choir but with a greater focus on our general wellbeing. There are so many wonderful benefits to our emotional, mental, physical, and social wellbeing through singing, but these benefits are greatly enhanced when we sing in a group setting compared to singing alone.

Singing with others is so uplifting. It’s a fantastic way to energise yourself, to lift your spirits and enhance positive emotions. Medical and scientific studies have proven that singing reduces stress, anxiety and depression. It also has proven benefits for our physical wellbeing as it impacts our lung capacity, helps respiratory disorders, memory loss and circulation problems in so many positive and wonderful ways.

For All Ages

The York Wellbeing Choir is for everyone. Our age span at present ranges from 20 to 80+ years old! During our time together we explore and expand a wide and varied repertoire of uplifting songs whilst socialising with one another and having fun.

We place HUGE importance on our Social Wellbeing so we work hard to ensure that community and friendship are at the heart of everything we do. Our core values address the importance of inclusion, and our hope is that The York Wellbeing Choir is a place where everyone is made to feel welcome and experiences a sense of belonging as a valued member of our choir community.

For All Abilities

Our inclusive choir sessions are friendly, relaxed, and suitable for all abilities. They aim to give all who participate the opportunity to experience the joy of singing and its many wonderful benefits to our wellbeing whilst developing musical skills.

Our repertoire is wide and varied but is always uplifting and consists of popular songs from shows, films, popular bands and artists spanning multiple eras.

We enjoy singing in unison and two and three-part harmony and we learn all of our songs by ear using lyric sheets only. Therefore, you do not need to be able to read music to sing in our choir. There is no audition process either. Just come along, pick up a song sheet and sing with us!

Download our Mission Statement

As long as we live, there is never enough singing.

Martin Luther Tweet
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Location, Day & Time

The York Wellbeing Choir meets at The Gateway Centre in Acomb on Friday mornings from 10.30am – 12pm.

From 10.30-11am there is social time and refreshments are served in the cafe area of The Gateway Centre.

The choir practice starts runs from 11am – 12pm.

What can I expect?

Social Wellbeing: The benefits of being in a choir community to our social wellbeing are amazing, so we place great importance on setting time aside to meet in the cafe area of the Gateway Centre for tea/coffee and light refreshments. Our cafe time is from 10.30-11am. 

Singing together: The Choir Practice runs from 11am – 12pm in the main auditorium of The Gateway Centre. Voices are grouped in the following ways – Sopranos (higher female voice), Altos (lower female voice) and Gentlemen. Don’t worry if you do not know where your voice may fit as we can help you to find which section suits your voice and preference the best, or you are free to discover this with guidance over a number of weeks.

PAYG payment

The cost of  The York Wellbeing Choir is £6 per session PAYG.  Payments are made on arrival either by cash or contactless card machine.

A healthy & friendly environment

  • The choir practice takes place in the main auditorium of the Gateway Centre which is spacious with good ventilation.
  • There is a CO2 monitor in the auditorium.
  • We politely ask that choir members who are unwell with an illness that may be contagious do not attend the choir practice.
  • As with any large, mixed group, the choir requires some gentle ‘etiquette’ to ensure enjoyment for all and help us to get the most out of our time together  in both rehearsal and performance. Please see our Mission Statement link above.
Opportunities

Performance

The York Wellbeing Choir has opportunities to perform at various events throughout the year in the local and wider community. We often perform to help raise money for local and national charity organisations, as well as hosting ‘in house’ events for charity at our regular Friday morning choir practices e.g. Macmillan Coffee Morning & Brain Tumour Research. Performance events/venues in include: Hosting our own concert in the summer and at Christmas time, The York Community Choir Festival at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, Living North Live at York Racecourse, Singing for SASH at York Railway Station, St Helen’s Square outside the Mansion House, NHS Carol Service in York Minster, Singing to shoppers on Acomb Front Street.

Contact Nicola
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Testimonials

What Choirs Member Say

After several years of battling and coming to terms with a lifelong chronic illness I can honestly say the Well-being Choir has given me back part of my identity. I look forward to this precious hour every week when I can focus on self-care through singing which aids my emotional and physical health. I love being part of a welcoming choir community where we get to sing great songs and meet new people. Thank you, Nicola, for being our amazing leader. You bring such passion, skill and talent for music that combines to create a wonderful uplifting experience!
Rachael
Rachael
What you are doing with the Wellbeing Choir is melding a really wide range of folk into a happy group of people who just enjoy the expressive feelings from singing in a Group. Thank you for doing it, I have really benefited from it over the past 3 years. Nicola Betts runs it in such a friendly, encouraging way that we don’t even mind being tested with new material and new harmonies. I have very often been the only male singer there though, and I’m no songbird. Come on fellas, it’s fun! The benefits to my lung expansion has helped my physical fitness (I’m a creaky 76 now) and the singing lifted my spirits enormously. Singing in a group makes your emotions well up and you go for it to meet the challenges - and there’s this inner warm glow afterwards that’s hard to describe.
John
John
In 2019 I was searching for a choir to join believing it would bring a sense of wellbeing to my life. And there it was – the Wellbeing Choir at York Hospital led by Nicola. Joining this choir exceeded all my expectations – the confidence to sing, the social support – the sheer happiness and enjoyment. Nicola believes everyone can sing – she somehow brings us together and collectively we shine!
Trish
Trish
I am a member of the zoom choir attached to Nicola’s well-being choir. She does her best to make us feel included in the experience with the rest of the choir and even though I am not with them in person, Nicola’s personality and musicality make it a very uplifting experience. I would say it is exactly what a Wellbeing choir should be.
Cheryl
Cheryl
I think that one of the best and most rewarding things I have ever done is to join the Wellbeing Choir. It has given me more confidence. I have made some wonderful new friends who are so friendly and welcoming. It helps my wellbeing so much, both socially and emotionally, although I don’t rate myself as a great singer! I just love being able to sing in a safe and comfortable environment for which I thank our amazing choir leader Nicola who is always encouraging, kind and supportive and I will be forever grateful to her for creating the choir.
Beryl
Beryl
In 2021 I had a real downer on myself and life in general, after having had a couple of serious illnesses, losing my dad and living in a new area. A dear friend recommended the well-being choir knowing how much I loved singing. It is now my weekly tonic, it boosts my well-being, my confidence, my singing! Not to mention new friends, I go home feeling elated every week, I love learning the new songs and harmonies. Nicola makes it easy for us, she engages all of us in a kind but encouraging way. And we laugh, a lot, together.
Karen
Karen
My name is Lorraine and for most of my life was told I couldn’t sing so never in a million years would I have joined a choir, but on suggestion by a friend and being at a particularly low point in life I went along - couldn’t wait for the next session and now I can sing…… I can sing in front of other members…….. and I can sing on stage in front of an audience. I have gained confidence, positivity and have overcome my social disabilities in crowds, all due to Nicola and the Wellbeing choir, her kindness to us all and her passion for the songs we sing. Friday morning choir practices are happy, joyful events never to be missed…….
Lorraine
Lorraine
Joining the Wellbeing Choir has been a great experience. It is full of fun - it has also given me the chance to learn and sing harmonies, which I really enjoy. Nicola is a great musician, singer, and leader. She somehow manages to get us to do the work needed to learn the songs in a relaxed atmosphere without making it feel like hard work. I love the weekly sessions and always feel lighter in my step when I leave having had a good chat with other choir members and a jolly good sing. It's always uplifting.
Frances
Frances
I so look forward to our weekly choir practices led by our wonderful leader Nicola, I’ve met new friends, hope my signings ‘improved’ but it’s taking part that matters. I come away feeling so uplifted with a tune in my mind for the rest of the day.
Marilyn
Marilyn
I have been involved with the Well Being Choir for a number of years now, from practicing in the Chapel at the hospital, to zoom sessions when we were in lockdown, and singing in an outdoor space in a small group when it was allowed. Throughout Nicola has been a source of positivity and a confidence builder. Her welcoming attitude to all choir members, new and long standing, has impressed me. She always encourages us to be our best, and, even when our singing isn't quite right on a new song, her attitude is one of "it's a work in progress". I look forward to Friday mornings, singing with new friends in the choir and a social cup of tea / coffee before we start. Nicola has made us a great team with smiles all around. Well done Nicola. Keep up the good work.
Margaret
Margaret
I approached the Wellbeing Choir with some trepidation but loved it from day one. The ethos of the group is very inclusive and each week I speak to someone new. We sing songs that everyone knows, and Nicola is a bubbly character who mixes fun and discipline to produce harmonies which make the hair stand on end. There is a 'Group Feel' developing recently which makes the whole experience uplifting and something to look forward to each week. I was really impressed by how quickly a Zoom alternative choir was arranged during the long months of lockdown. Nicola works hard to develop the choir and we have had the experience and excitement of performing locally recently. I would recommend this choir to anyone.
Lynda
Lynda
Nicola has the dual gift of teaching us to harmonise to our very best ability whilst also entertaining us by her vibrant personality. No matter how grey the day she raises our spirits -the smiling faces and laughter as we leave are testimony to the joy that we have all shared.
Jeannie
Jeannie
I always feel happier after singing in the Wellbeing Choir. Nicola is so full of energy and encouragement that she pulls us all together so that we "lift the rafters" with an amazing sound.
Sally
Sally
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Our Story

Where words fail, music speaks.

Hans Christian Andersen Tweet

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

Pablo Picasso Tweet

The York Wellbeing Choir was founded by York Hospital’s Arts Team in 2018, thanks to generous funding from York Teaching Hospital Charity. Its weekly practices were held in the Hospital’s Chapel up until the start of the pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, the Wellbeing Choir continued to meet on Zoom, then outdoors before reforming in-person in September 2021 at the Gateway Centre in Acomb.

The York Wellbeing Choir now runs on a self-funding basis, led and coordinated by Nicola Betts. Nicola has a wealth of experience as a community musician, music teacher and singer and her work includes leading community choirs and community music groups which aim to nurture wellbeing, creativity, self-expression and self-confidence across all ages and abilities. 

Since September 2021, the York Wellbeing Choir has had the exciting opportunity to work closely with an amazing research team from the AudioLab based at York University to help develop and shape the best quality immersive experience for future hybrid choirs around the world. This technology for hybrid choirs will allow some of society’s most isolated people to participate in a choir and feel included in its community. As part of this research project, the Wellbeing Choir has been running as a hybrid choir. Participants both locally, nationally and even on occasion internationally, have been joining our weekly choir practices online via Zoom.

Our Choir

Community Choir Festival 2024

"The Rhythm of Life"

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

By Creatore, Peretti & Weiss

"A Little Peace"

By Meinunger & Greedus

"Love Changes Everything" - a performance

By Andrew Lloyd Webber, Hart & Black

"The Rhythm of Life"

By Coleman & Fields

"Super Trooper"

By Abba

"Love Changes Everything"

By Andrew Lloyd Webber, Hart & Black
Wellbeing Choir performing on stage

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Wellbeing Choir performing on stage
Wellbeing Choir members enjoying refreshment at a buffet table
Nicola enjoying wellbeing choir refreshments
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