If music be the food of love (or, given we're in the pub, "the love of food"), play on. On this week's Movers and Shakers, the gang have gathered to discuss music, and the many ways it can impact the Parky community. From vocal warm-ups and singing helping to bring back Mark's booming voice, through to dance and gesture exercise keeping you fit and lyric translations keeping you brainy, music can have a huge impact. The team are joined in the pub by opera singer Bibi Heal (who gives a very special performance) along with the team from Neuro Heroes.
By Podot
Each week Rory Cellan-Jones guides us between the laughs and moans in the pub. To read Rory's summary of this week's episode click here.
Guest Biographies
Bibi Heal
Bibi graduated from the University of East Anglia with a First Class degree in Music. After completing her postgraduate diploma at the Royal Academy of Music, she studied with Graeme Danby and Jonathan Papp, going on to study privately with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.She currently studies with Sena Larard and Barbara Bonney.
Operatic engagements include Mary Turner in Gershwin Of Thee I Sing and its sequel Let ‘Em Eat Cake, and Masha in Shostakovich Paradise Moscow, all for Opera North and at Bregenz Festival. Bibi also performed Princess Sofie in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi for Opera O.T. in Rotterdam, Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) for Gstaad Festival directed by Barbara Bonney, Handel Saul and Street Child (The Pied Piper) for Opera North, the title role in Schumann Genoveva for UCOpera at the Bloomsbury Theatre, Susanna (Marriage of Figaro) and Gretel (Hansel & Gretel) for Eastern Opera, Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice) and Dorinda (Orlando) for Ryedale Festival, Will Tuckett’s Wind in the Willows in the Linbury Theatre and on tour for ROH2, and Gretel (Tansy Davies Elephant and Castle) for Aldeburgh Festival.She has taken part in many collaborative projects, including Opera North, Kneehigh Theatre, ROH2, The Opera Group, ENO and Forced Entertainment. She toured an award-winning Early Years opera for Spitalfields Festival / Early Opera Company, performed extracts of Monteverdi Coronazione di Poppea at Latitude Festival, and sang Cally Spooner’s live installation Damning Evidence for Hayward Gallery / British Art Show 8.
Bibi’s numerous concert and oratorio performances span venues including Konzerthaus Berlin, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Ulster Hall, Cadogan Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Sage Gateshead, Glasgow City Hall, and Brighton Dome. Orchestras include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, Ulster Orchestra, Tercia Realidad, and the Europaïsches Barockorchester.She sang Mendelssohn The Dream for the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Mahler 4th Symphony with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Mahler 2nd Symphony with London Mahler Orchestra, Goodall Eternal Light for Ballet Rambert at Sadler’s Wells, Mendelssohn Elijah in Barbican, Mendelssohn Lobgesang in King’s College Cambridge, Mozart Exsultate Jubilate for Henley Festival, Mozart Mass in C Minor in York Minster, Poulenc Gloria in Chichester Cathedral and Brahms Requiem in Arundel Cathedral.
Most recent concerts include Mahler 2nd Symphony at Southwark Cathedral and Huddersfield Town Hall, Opera North’s Monteverdi installation I Am Yours, Yours I Am in the V&A Museum London, Mozart concert arias with Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Haydn Die Schöpfung in Konzerthaus, Berlin.
An exceptionally expressive performer, Bibi specialises in imaginative recitals that bring listeners to the very heart of the music. In 2019, Bibi and pianist Stephen Barlow formed a duo and co-founded Song Surgery, now known as Songs That Move. Bibi also performs regularly with guitarist Amanda Cook, and accordionist Miloš Milivojević. Recital engagements include Opera North, Festival of Chichester, Salisbury Festival, Leeds Lieder, Handel Festival Göttingen, Valladolid Festival Spain, Cardiff Guitar Festival, Ripon International Festival, Cranleigh Arts and the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Maazel: Mahler series at the Royal Festival Hall. Source: bibiheal.com
Watch & listen to Bibi Heal in the pub!
Anna Kharin
I am Anna, a Neurological Physiotherapist from Neuro Heroes, the UK's first online Parkinson's gym. Neuro Heroes was set up four years ago by myself and Laura Douglas, a fellow Neuro Physiotherapist, because of our belief in how transformational exercise can be for the Parkinson’s community. We set out to create a positive, inspirational space that gives people with Parkinson’s the opportunity to participate in exercise that is uniquely designed for their condition.
We currently run 22 classes a week, all of which are live, over Zoom and run by neuro physiotherapists who give real time feedback throughout. Think of us as your daily or weekly dose of Parkinson's physiotherapy! Our classes are designed from Parkinson's research not only to help people reach recommended exercise guidelines, but also with the clever use of music and varied playful content to ensure people are fully engaged whilst working hard. We are passionate about creating a community of Heroes who feel empowered to manage their symptoms using exercise, and thrive whilst living with Parkinson’s.
We find that music is a brilliant tool that can be used to improve physical and mental wellbeing when working with people with Parkinson's. Music can help to motivate people to achieve more whilst they are exercising - importantly it brings energy and much needed fun while people are putting in the hard work! We know that people with Parkinson's need to workout at a moderate to high intensity to help them improve and slow their symptoms. We are talking about 80% effort here, which we know is not easy! Music can help immerse people in the exercise instead of watching the clock, and distract them from thinking “gosh I am tired”. In Neuro Heroes classes we change the tempo and volume of the music to match the heart rate and effort we are hoping our Heroes will achieve in different sections. We also ask people what their favourite songs are and include these to give clients a real lift and sense of nostalgia in the class.
Music isn’t just a tool for lifting people physically and mentally though - it can also be really handy in improving walking and reducing the risk of falls. People with Parkinson's can find it difficult to produce repetitive rhythmic movements, like walking, and can often find freezing is a problematic symptom. This is because a person's internal cueing system is disrupted in Parkinson’s. The rhythm of music has actually been shown to help initiate and improve people's walking by acting as an external cue. This can be a useful strategy for people to use, and as a byproduct, people are often more confident to be active which in turns helps them to thrive.
We are often asked whether it matters what music you are listening to. My answer to this is to listen to what inspires you and brings you joy. Evidence shows that if you enjoy what you are doing you will do it again, and this is key to people's exercise journey! It does help, however, to have the right tempo to work to. So if you're trying to get your heart rate up, look out for songs with a beat of 120-140 per minute - the rhythm in these songs match the heart rate you're likely aiming for! In Neuro Heroes classes you will see our Heroes completing some drum fitness, banging drumsticks (or wooden spoons!) on cushions, creating big arm movements to the beat whilst singing Lulu's “Shout” or Katrina and the Waves' “Walking on Sunshine”. The positive impact that singing has whilst exercising can not be underestimated. You will be working on the projection of your voice, your posture and dual tasking (co-ordinating more than one body part) as well as getting your face moving. Luckily in our classes everyone is on mute at this stage so they can really be free to project their voices!
So why not give it a go? Pick a song you like, sing like no one is watching, move with all the effort you have and have fun with your exercise!
Find out more about Neuroheros here.
Listen to Professor Grenville Hancox talk about "Move to Beat Parkinson's" here
To read more about the Canterbury Cantata Trust click here.
About Songs That Move
"You choose the mood, we choose the music!"
Songs That Move is a ground-breaking online therapeutic programme of artistically-led,
medically-relevant physiotherapy for all.
Borne of the concert format Song Surgery, founded in 2019, we aim for Songs That Move
to be accessed via a subscription-based app, and in the future, available on prescription. It is
designed for those affected by a range of neurological, linguistic and mental challenges.
We use classical songs in an entirely innovative way. With filmed, intimate performances
by artists of world-renown, we distil the essence of these miniature works of art. First, we
introduce the imagery and stories within each piece, creating context and helping you to find
your own personal connection to the song. Then, you may choose to add the
element of physiotherapy; as you follow a simultaneous film of a dancer’s accompanying movements inspired by these texts, we create a uniquely immersive experience of real power and depth.
The options of subtitles, pictorial prompts and emboldened keywords are included to support those living with aphasia, a devastating language disability, common post-stroke. Often called ‘identity-theft’, aphasia can be intensely isolating; enabling access to these songs and stories can be an immensely useful tool to lift mood, engage with others and inspire the imagination.
We are working in collaboration with people with lived experience of these conditions,
including the award-winning podcasters Movers & Shakers (six high-profile individuals with
Parkinson’s), aphasia-specific clinical academics at City University London and Central
Michigan University, clinicians at Kings College London, and specialist neurological
physiotherapists, the Neuro Heroes.
We are currently working to build a library of films serving Parkinson’s and aphasia; for
clinical trials and feedback, to raise awareness, provide tangible support and inspire hope.
Read more about Songs That Move here.
If you would like to support and donate to Songs That Move click here.
Watch some behind the scenes footage of Songs That Move...
Some useful links
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