How Renée Fleming uses music to help Parkinson's disease: A powerful partnership
We know you are an internationally known soprano
singer and we would love to know how you got
interested in using music to help people with
medical diseases?
I observed that music helped me with stage fright and anxiety, and I saw that the therapeutic effects of music were far more powerful and widespread than I could have imagined. Once I was able to put this in the context of evolution and survival throughout millennia, it made perfect sense. Since then, I have sought to share this message with my audience and beyond.
The next section of the blog is provided in
partnership with the PD virtual choir and Elizabeth
Stegemoller, PhD, Associate Professor, at Iowa
State University
Can you explain what is the Parkinson’s “Virtual
Choir” and how it works?
For the past three years, I have hosted a Singing Festival for persons with PD. We have gathered to rehearse, have dinner, and then put on a concert. Since we are not able to meet in person this year, we decided to put together a virtual choir festival. I sent out a few emails to other contacts that I knew had PD singing groups and asked if they were interested in joining, and the response was amazing! We have over 170 participants with PD singing in the mass choir, “What the World Needs Now is Love” from all over the US and Australia. Then, Renee Fleming was so gracious to allow us to debut the mass choir piece on her webinar series on September 8th, 2020. This was the icing on the cake! It has really given so many people with PD something to work towards over this summer. We will host the virtual singing festival on our YouTube channel later this year. There are nine additional pieces from the various singing groups that will also be a part of the festival. Dr. Stegemoller’s virtual choir and other videos are available on her YouTube channel.
Since Parkinson’s is a disease that affects people
from all countries and cultures how do you think the
virtual choir can help to unite people in the cause?
I hope that the virtual choir will highlight that just because you have PD does not mean that you cannot sing or use technology or connect with others from around the country— and even places as far away as Australia. The mass choir piece, “What the World Needs Now is Love” is really a message from the PD community about our world and that even with PD, you can still make a difference. The other songs included in the festival also offer additional messages of hope and dealing with PD that I believe will provide inspiration for people with PD from different countries and cultures.
There is a grassroots movement for Ending
Parkinson’s Disease that seeks to follow in the
footsteps of the successes of polio and HIV.
Do you think the international voices from the choir
can help to obtain the 1 million plus signatures to
support the #ParkinsonPACT prescription for action
(prevent, advocate, care and treat)?
The majority of the participants are from the US so far but we hope that changes. However, I do hope that everyone will sing and sign the @PDAvengers PACT. The PD Avengers were inspired by the Parkinson PACT and the book Ending Parkinson’s Disease.
What advice do you have for people to better use
their voices in advocating for Parkinson’s?
My advice is to take a risk and to not be afraid to be a little out of your comfort zone. Recording yourself singing by yourself with another person or listening over the internet is not something that is very comfortable for most people with PD. However, the experience of connecting with others and working towards an end goal that will highlight the importance of music and singing in the care and treatment of persons with PD is super rewarding. So sing, and show the world that music is an amazing tool that can be used to promote health and healing for PD!!!
This blog is brought to you by Michael S. Okun and Indu Subramanian.
To read more books and articles by Michael S. Okun MD check Twitter @MichaelOkun and these websites with blogs and information on his books and http://parkinsonsecrets.com/ #EndingPD #ParkinsonPACT #Parkinsonsecrets and https://www.tourettetreatment.com/
He also serves as the Medical Director for the Parkinson’s Foundation.
To see more on Dr. Indu Subramanian she does live interviews of experts in Parkinson’s for the PMD Alliance. The topic of Music and the Brain will be the topic of this week’s episode on October 30, 2020- register here to attend the interview of Dr. Brodsky by Dr. Subramanian.
