This new study illustrates the "Positive Benefits of Choruses and Choral Singing for Children, Adults, and Communities". Just look at Estonia's Singing Revolution to see the impact unified singing can have not only culturally, but politically.
Here are a few of the stats pulled out, and click below to read the full article...
Adults who sing are remarkably good citizens.
A few of the current study's major findings for adult singers include:
* Choral participation remains strong in America with 32.5 million adults regularly singing in at least one of 270,000 choruses nationwide.
* Choral singers exhibit higher levels of civic involvement, with choristers almost 3 times more likely to be officers or committee members of local community organizations such as the PTA.
* 78% of choral singers indicated they "at least sometimes" volunteer their time in their community, while only 50% of the general public say the same.
* 74% of choral singers agree or strongly agree that singing in a chorus has helped them become better team leaders or team participants in other areas of their lives; nearly two-thirds agree or strongly agree that being in a chorus has helped them socialize better in other areas of their lives.
* Choral singers donate 2.5 times more money to philanthropic organizations than the general public.
* 96% of choral singers surveyed who are eligible voters said they vote regularly in national and local elections; only 70% of the general public cites the same level of participation.
* Civic engagement also extends to patronage of other art forms, with choral singers at least 2 times more likely to attend theater, opera, and orchestra performances as well as visit museums and art galleries.
The 2009 study included a new component that explicitly examined the effects choral singing has on childhood development. The results show children who sing in choirs display many of the enhanced social skills found in adult singers, substantiating earlier conclusions that singing in childhood is likely to have an enormous influence on the choices individuals make later in life. Additionally, both parents and educators attribute a significant proportion of a child's academic success to singing in a choir.
Children who sing in choruses have academic success and valuable life skills.
Several of the study's major findings for young singers include:
* There are approximately 10.1 million American children singing in choruses today.
* The majority of parents surveyed believe multiple skills increased after their child joined a chorus. 71% say their child has become more self-confident, 70% say their child's self-discipline has improved, and 69% state their child's memory skills have improved.
* More than 80% of educators surveyed--across multiple academic disciplines--agree with parent assessments that choir participation can enhance numerous aspects of a child's social development and academic success. Educators also observe that children who sing are better participants in group activities, have better emotional expression, and exhibit better emotional management.
* 90% of educators believe singing in a choir can keep some students engaged in school who might otherwise be lost--this is particularly true of educators (94%) who describe the ethnicity of their schools as diverse.
* Children who participate in a chorus get significantly better grades than children who have never sung in a choir. 45% of parents whose children sing state their child receives "all or mostly A's" in mathematics (vs. 38% of non-choir parents) and 54% get "all or mostly A's" in English and other language arts classes (vs. 43%).
http://www.chorusamerica.org/about_choralsinging.cfm