We are delighted to announce that our groundbreaking project, Breath Cycle II, designed to support those with a range of conditions affecting lung health, in particular Long COVID, has been awarded a grant of £86,892 by the Scottish Government.
With an estimated 187,000 people in Scotland living with Long COVID, this grant will enable us to reach more people in all corners of the country (including more remote communities), increase the number of participants who can take part in the project’s workshops, deliver a training programme for nine session tutors and promote the issues around the condition in general.
As part of this expansion and continuation of the existing workshops, today, (1 February) we launched a new set of free, online resources for Breath Cycle II which are available to individuals, choirs and singing groups worldwide.
During lockdown, we repurposed the original Breath Cycle project to offer support to people struggling with the debilitating effects of Long COVID. Participants joined an online programme of gentle vocal training and breathing exercises designed to re-build physical and mental resilience, and in addition to these workshops, online song writing sessions were available, mentored by composer Gareth Williams and writer Martin O’Connor. These resulted in a series of songs called The Covid Composers Songbook, a positive musical legacy of the past two years, which form part of the digital resources materials available to download for no charge from our website.
The Songbook is officially launched tonight during a celebratory event at Saint Luke’s & The Winged Ox in Glasgow, which features the first public performance of the new songs by musicians and singers from both classical and folk genres, including singer-songwriter Louis Abbott from Admiral Fallow, as well as our 70-strong Community Choir. Artists who led the workshops will speak about the benefits of the project, as will some of the participants.
The fifth block of singing and song writing workshops begins on 15 February and runs until April. Registration for the February sessions is open now, and the registration for the April sessions opens in March. These free sessions take place on Zoom and are limited to 50 participants. To register your interest and access the resources visit www.scottishopera.org.uk/join-in/breath-cycle/