OCTOBER 20 • 2022 | 25
M
otor City Upbeats Therapeutic
Choir is holding a Fall Fling
Fundraiser and Open House
on Sunday, Oct. 23, from 1-3 p.m.
at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield.
The event will feature music and
dancing, refreshments, silent auction,
a short demonstration of voice exercise
and a performance by therapeutic choir
members. The event is free to the public.
The Motor City Upbeats Therapeutic
Choir is a community-minded
therapeutic singing program designed
to assist individuals with Parkinson’s
disease and other neurological conditions.
The program combines group singing
of fun, popular songs with spoken, sung
and light physical exercise specific for
assisting participants in strengthening the
sound of their voice and enhancing vocal
range, expression, flexibility and ease of
communication.
Alice Silbergleit, Ph.D., CCC, speech-
language pathologist and director
of Speech-Language Sciences and
Disorders, Department of Neurology,
Henry Ford Health, and member of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, long
dreamed of initiating a program to offer
her patients a fun way to keep their
voices in shape after they completed
traditional voice therapy.
Silbergleit founded the therapeutic
choir with co-founder Elizabeth
Esqueda, M.M., a professional singer
and voice teacher, in 2019. The group
persisted virtually through the pandemic
and recently resumed in-person voice
exercise sessions weekly at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.
Weekly virtual and in-person
programs run almost continuously
throughout the choral year as well as
summer months, and all programming
is free for the members as well as for
spouses, siblings, friends or caregivers
that join them. No previous singing
experience is required.
According to Dr. Silbergleit,
“Research shows that individuals with
Parkinson disease who were involved
in singing groups demonstrated
improved respiratory function, were
able to sustain sound longer than before
singing and reported overall improved
quality of life.”
Interestingly, genetic forms of
Parkinson’s disease are more common in
Ashkenazi Jews than in non-Jews.
The Fall Fling event on Oct. 23 hopes
to raise awareness and raise funds for the
therapeutic choir so they can continue to
offer programming that is fun, healthy
and life-enhancing within the Metro
Detroit community.
Therapeutic Choir
Therapeutic Choir
Hosts Fundraiser
Hosts Fundraiser
OUR COMMUNITY
Learn more about how singing can help people
with Parkinson’s disease.
Some members of the Motor City
Upbeats Therapeutic Choir after
singing the national anthem at
the annual Michigan Parkinson
Foundation fundraiser, June 2022