By Tian Yee Shin
Don’t be taken aback if you hear “meowing” sounds from the SGH karaoke lounge on Thursday evenings. It’s not a roomful of cats let loose to roam, neither is it someone massacring a karaoke tune, but the SGH Campus choir members going through their warm up vocal exercises.
Stick around and the “meowing” soon gives way to melodious tunes, a commendable achievement for a group that was formed only six months ago, with many members who had little or no experience singing in a choir.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the sign ups - more than 40 staff across SingHealth institutions from various professional groups,” said Mumtaj Ibrahim, SGH’s Senior Manager for Community Relations.
“The choir debuted at MusicFest@SGH in May and despite having only slightly more than a month of training, they rose to the occasion and was well-received by the patients and staff!”
Since then, requests for the choir to perform at various events have been pouring in, most recently at SingHealth Talentime, in support of SingHealth President’s Challenge where they performed “My Favourite Things” from the musical “The Sound of Music”.
“The SGH Campus choir is all about singing and having fun. You leave
each session with a smile on your face, and it is a great way to release
stress and anxiety after a long day or week at work!”
Dr Juriyah Yatim, Assistant Director, Nursing (APN), SGH
“When we first came together, we struggled to sing in unison. But under
the expert coaching of our choir mistress, and a desire to spread some good
cheer with our voices, we learnt to sing as one, and had fun doing so!
Seeing the smiles on our patients’ faces made all the hard work worthwhile.”
Vanessa Choo, Assistant Manager, Group Communications, SingHealth
“Join the SGH Campus choir - you will be in brilliant
company, since all of us are VOCAL people!”
Dorothy Goh, Senior Executive, Operations Admin, NCCS
Next up – catch the choir at the one SingHealth Duke-NUS Family celebratory event in February next year as we welcome CGH to the family – there’ll be representatives from KKH and CGH too!
Calling for more staff to join the choir, Mumtaj shared that singing in a group is a good way of creating togetherness as well as foster a sense of well-being and harmony. “It's also incredibly empowering to sing as one, so come join us!”
WE WANT YOU!
Whether you are a bathroom singer, have years of singing experience under your belt or have never uttered “do-re-mi” before but want to give it a go, we want YOU!
Join the SGH Campus Choir to bring cheer and joy to our patients and fellow colleagues! Email charlie.goh.c.w@sgh.com.sg with your name and mobile number, and we’ll be in touch.
