Event description

Increasingly, older adults are discovering group singing as a meaningful social activity that has the power to build community, improve mood, and decrease stress. But what about group singing in adults who suffer from communication disorders, like aphasia or stuttering? A communication challenge (CC), which affects the ability to produce, perceive, or understand vocal aspects of speech, might be considered an anti-requisite to participation in group singing.  The SingWell Project challenges this stigma by encouraging group singing for all, focusing on the potential of singing to support the development and improvement of communication skills, in addition to benefits for psychosocial wellbeing.  The SingWell Project (www.singwell.org) is an international network comprised of researchers, practitioners, and non-governmental organizations and choirs.  The initiative focuses on five communication disorders, including aphasia, lung disease, hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease, and stuttering. Together, we have found promising preliminary results that group singing can improve various aspects of communication that are affected by each disorder, as well as overall psychosocial wellbeing. A second aim of this project is to clarify the sociobiological underpinnings of these social benefits. Over the long term, the project aims to engage in knowledge mobilization through the dissemination of best practices, and to develop policy initiatives for the social prescription of singing. 

Arla Good

Speaker

Dr. Arla Good

Dr. Arla Good is a research associate at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the co-director and chief researcher of The SingWell Project, an international research project exploring group singing as one potential strategy to address psychosocial well-being, communication, and health issues in older adulthood. She holds a Ph. D. in Psychology from Toronto Metropolitan University. Much of her work over the last decade has sought to identify and optimise singing-based interventions that can contribute to psychological and social wellbeing in a variety of different populations.

Frank Russo

Speaker

Dr. Frank Russo

Frank Russo is a Full Professor of Psychology, NSERC-Sonova Senior Industrial Research Chair in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience, and Director of the SMART Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. He serves as the Chief Science Officer for LUCID, an AI-driven software-as-a-service company developing music-based digital therapeutics, and as Scientific Director of SingWell, an international research network with a mission to understand, inform, and inspire choirs for individuals living with communication challenges. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and has received over 8M CAD in lifetime funding as a PI. His research investigates the neuro-cognitive, neuro-affective, and socio-biological aspects of music, speech, and hearing. He is a Fellow of Massey College, the Canadian Society for Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science, and the Canadian Psychological Association. He presently serves as an Associate Editor at three academic journals: Frontiers in Psychology (Emotion Science), Frontiers in Neuroscience (Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience) and Music Perception. 

More information

•    Webinar Link:  https://uottawa-ca.zoom.us/j/92342436310?pwd=dGFONEtTc2ZJTmc5M0JJVktrWDNPQT09
•    Meeting ID: 923 4243 6310
•    Passcode: mkUM6W

This event is open to the public.

Date and time
Feb 2, 2024
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Format and location
Virtual
Language
English
Audience
General public, Graduate students, Undergraduate students, Researchers

Contact us

Music and Health Research Institute

University of Ottawa
50 University Private
Perez Hall, Room 204
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1N 6N5

Tel: 613-562-5800 ext.2704
[email protected]