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 The "Breathing for the Soul" choir, which was formed this spring,
gave its second performance on Thursday in the ball room of a
Budapest Hotel.
Its members, many seriously ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) and drawn from hospitals across Hungary, say the
singing has improved the quality of their lives.
"I've never thought in my life that I would ever sing," Maria Aranyi,
74, who has been suffering from serious asthma for a decade.
"After the grey days, there is a place where I feel good ... after
singing I noticed that I could also breathe more easily."
Many lung disease patients become inhibited in their daily lives and
get increasingly isolated. Singing in a choir has brought them new
friends.
Doctor Katalin Vardi came up with the idea of forming the choir
after learning that similar patients in other countries had found
singing beneficial.
She said introducing concerts had given a new sense of purpose to
people who have to cope with the thought that their symptoms could
get worse as the disease progresses.
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"We upped the stakes for them, in order to change their own image of
themselves," Vardi said.
"With this community ... they can show their talent to the world and
the fact that they work together for this, is a hugely positive
feeling for them."
The songs were chosen to showcase the patients' abilities by
conductor Gyorgy Philipp, who said the concert was a huge challenge
for people who had never been on stage.
"We select songs that make it possible for patients to be able to
perform longer lines, more difficult tunes and they can develop
through that system," he said.
(Reporting by Krisztina Fenyo and Krisztina Than; editing by John
Stonestreet)
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