Karen Maclver and Jessica Leary from Scottish Opera performing at Chest Heart Stroke Scotland's No Life Half Lived Parliamentary event

Karen Maclver and Jessica Leary from Scottish Opera performing as part of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland's No Life Half Lived Parliamentary event

Photo: Scottish Opera

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Scottish Opera partners with stroke charity

The online singing, songwriting and breath control sessions are aimed at helping people with aphasia improve their confidence around communication.

Mary Stone
3 min read

Scottish Opera has teamed up with  Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) to offer online singing classes for people with aphasia, a communication disorder often caused by damage to the part of the brain that controls language following a stroke.

The countrywide project will see Scottish Opera work with CHSS staff to deliver therapeutic singing, songwriting and breath control sessions, with the aim of improving the mental well-being and confidence in the communication of those with aphasia and other respiratory issues, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

It follows a previous collaboration between the arts organisation and the health charity launched in 2020. The Breath Cycle project was designed to support those with lung health conditions, including long Covid.

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Composer Gareth Williams, who alongside writer Martin O’Connor mentored the most recent online Breath Cycle sessions, said: “Our encounters with the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland team and our first conversations with our participants who have aphasia have been so inspiring. 

“Our challenge is to help people find and connect with their voices again, both their physical voices and their creative voices. There are incredible stories to tell in this community and, together, we will find them and share them through song.”

Earlier this month, CHSS launched a report on the challenges facing people in Scotland living with aphasia, which found that more than half of those with the condition felt it affected their mental health. At the same time, 48% said they experienced loneliness as a result of their condition, and 43%  said it impacted their ability to work.
 
“Working with Scottish Opera to unlock the therapeutic benefits of singing and songwriting to people living with aphasia is a fantastic opportunity to tackle real issues facing people across the country, said CEO of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, Jane-Claire Judson.
 
“We regularly hear from the people we support that living with communication difficulty following stroke can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness and have a negative impact on mental health.
 
“We look forward to bringing people together to experience the joy of singing with others whilst exploring the benefits of singing and songwriting to their communication skills.”

Jane Davidson, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, added: “The work that CHSS undertakes each year with hundreds of thousands of Scots has set really high standards in the positive integration of mental health and well-being initiatives with clinical intervention.”

“As Scotland’s largest performing arts company, we feel that the values of both our organisations are beautifully aligned in this new collaboration that seeks to enhance the quality of people’s lives across the country.”