June 2023
Jane Silver-Corren has music in her soul and she’s on a mission to help everyone enjoy the magical benefits of singing. We caught up with her to hear about her current projects…
The Bridge: You’re a familiar face around Bridport, and there can’t be many locals who haven’t come across your unique brand of joyful musical expression. What have you been up to?
Jane Silver-Corren: I’ve been singing! I have a few things going on at the moment. My singing group, Voices of Hope, meets in Borough Gardens on Fridays to sing easy pieces from around the world. It used to be funded by Rethink, a mental health support charity, but asking for a small donation from members has allowed us to continue independently. I also do sessions with the lovely people at the Living Tree, who are living with cancer, and I’ve been working with the Harmony mental health charity, Bridport Stroke Club and the Alzheimer’s Society. I give individual and group lessons, too.
TB: Much of your work is with people facing serious physical and psychological challenges. How does singing help them?
JSC: It’s so beneficial, physically and mentally. If you’re anxious or under stress, your nervous system is in ‘fight or flight’ mode, but singing regulates the breath, which calms you down. I warm people up with breathing exercises – making the ‘out breath’ longer than the ‘in breath’ really helps – and start with a shake to loosen any tension.
TB: So it’s a mood-booster?
JSC: Yes, and so much more! Singing releases lots of happy hormones, and it uses both sides of the brain. Through my work with people with dementia, I know that they can learn new songs, even when their memory has otherwise been seriously affected by the disease. Singing’s also great for confidence – people who think they can’t sing realise they can, and they love it! Mostly I like everyone to enjoy singing, to have a good laugh – I like to bring people up, occasionally into stillness but we usually spend a lot of the sessions laughing and having fun.
TB: What do your groups sing?
JSC: We sing some well-known songs and I teach pieces from around the world, but I sometimes get my groups to write their own songs, too. Song writing is really good for people and can be a way of processing difficult emotions – through my work as an occupational therapist and mental health support worker I’ve learnt the benefits of holding people in that ‘space’ where they feel safe and confident about expressing themselves. With groups we often discuss a topic, or I ask people to think of a line each, in turn. The Living Tree group wrote a song about rope making, which worked really well.
TB: Tell us a bit about your background in music.
JSC: I’ve always loved singing. I come from London and I used to work as a festivals coordinator in Hounslow. I could see first-hand the connection between music and wellbeing, so I retrained as an occupational therapist specialising in the therapeutic value of music. Then my husband and I decided we wanted to live somewhere greener, so we moved to the West Country – first to Upottery in Devon, where we had our two sons. I’m Jewish, and I realised there wasn’t much interfaith stuff going on at my sons’ school and other schools in the area, so I started working with a multifaith team – Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh and Muslim – putting together music and dance to take into schools. I still do it occasionally, and I find it very rewarding. Then, of course, we moved to Bridport!
TB: What does Bridport mean to you?
JSC: It’s such a musical town. Music is accessible to everyone here, whatever their age or ability. Bridport Voices is a thriving community choir, and Local Vocals has several choirs in Dorset, including one in Bridport. There’s also a Taizé choir at the Chapel in the Garden, and the U3A runs a regular singing group, too. Something for everyone!
Being here means I can swim in the sea, which I love, and we have a nice garden with plenty of flowers. During the pandemic I also started growing veg, and now I’m really into it!
TB: Have your sons inherited your love of music?
JSC: My older son, Jonah, is a singer-songwriter and poet, so he certainly has! His day job is organising events at Exeter University, but he also performs in Exeter and Plymouth on occasion and runs events to support established poets. My other son, Toby, finished his degree in marine biology at Newcastle University last June, and he’s now working as a dive instructor in Thailand. I’m hoping to go out there and travel around with him for a bit. I’m very grateful to have such a lovely family.
janesilvercorren@gmail.com
The Tourist Information Centre can provide details of all local music and singing groups.