The SWAN project (Singing with Additional Needs) draws on best practices from different European countries to include people with additional needs in collective singing. These additional needs may arise due to disabilities and/or physical or psychological health issues.
The project takes a holistic approach, taking into account the complexity and intersectionality of people’s additional needs and the diversity of skills and approaches needed to welcome everyone.
Subscribe to the European Choral Association newsletter to keep up to date on the SWAN project!
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The SWAN project aims to:
- collect, scale and promote best practices in collective singing for people with additional needs
- provide transnational opportunities for collective singing professionals to engage with the best practices of other countries
- develop and make use of digital tools to support people with additional needs in participating
- make knowledge internationally accessible
The SWAN project includes such activities as the development of digital tools and a best practices database, sharing research, experimentation with and evaluation of certain best practices, networking and knowledge-sharing through workshops, round-tables and conferences.
During the project, partners will develop:
- computer scripts and e-book for singers with visual impairments
- reports on research, experimentation and outcomes (see resources below)
- guide for conductors leading a choir for cancer patients (see resources below)
- recordings of project events
- a database of best practices (access the questionnaire)
The SWAN project expects to benefit hundreds of amateur and professional singers with additional needs, choral conductors/vocal leaders, and organisers of future initiatives. We also hope to benefit thousands more with the resources and outputs created in the frame of the project, increasing the quality of inclusion of people with additional needs in collective singing as well as in the quantity of opportunities.
QUESTIONNAIRE
One of the project’s key outcomes is a database aimed at collecting, scaling, and sharing these best practices internationally.
If you’re running an exemplary project or initiative using collective singing for individuals with additional needs, please fill out the SWAN Project questionnaire. Your input will help make this valuable knowledge accessible and create new opportunities for professionals in the field.
Fill in the questionnaire here by July 15
news
- SWAN newsletter March 2025
- Call for Presentations: Share Your Work on Inclusive Singing at Leading Voices 2025!
- Questionnarie for SWAN database – fill it out!
- Project meeting in Amsterdam with the SWAN partners
- Feniarco joins the SWAN project! Read the full press release
- Work in progress: the Dutch contribution to the SWAN project
- Launch of the SWAN project! Read the full press release
RESOURCES
- Digital tools for visually impaired singers implemented and related webinar by Norsk Sangerforum
- Guideline for professionals who want to start a choir specifically intended for people confronted with cancer by Kanker in Beeld
EVENTS
FUTURE EVENTS
- WEBINAR “What’s special about conducting a choir for people with cancer? Focus: voice expression as an essential element of the rehearsal” | Online (zoom), 27 March 2025 at 3pm | Register here
Are you a choir conductor looking to make a difference? Whether you already lead a choir for cancer patients or are curious about the impact of singing in this context, this webinar will offer valuable insights, practical techniques and inspiration. Join experienced choir conductor, Heleen van der Heul, and president of Kanker in Beeld, Cora Honing, as they introduce the Singing for Life choir network in the Netherlands and get a glimpse into the power of these choirs. The webinar will include Heleen sharing key elements of voice expression that she practices with her choir in Almere as well as Cora sharing opportunities to join a conductors exchange in the Netherlands in 2025 and attend Kanker in Beeld’s Regional Choir Gathering in October 2025.
See the Kanker in Beeld website for more details!
PAST EVENTS
- WALTER STRAUSS CHORAL CONDUCTING MASTERCLASS | Ankara (TR), 19-25 January 2025 | Website
The International Choral Conducting Masterclass Project has been organized by the Turkish State Choir since 2016. This special program brings together six active conductor candidates and observer participants interested in choral music with internationally renowned guest choral conductors invited to our country each year, offering an intensive and rich training experience for a week. Some activities will be organised in the framework of the SWAN project. - WEBINAR “DIGITAL TOOLS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED SINGERS” | Online (zoom), 26 November 2024 | Recording
Sheet music can be difficult to read for those who are visually impaired. Get an introduction to Digital tools for visually impaired singers. The webinar is in English. All the software and tools we present are freeware/open source. Read more and watch the recording at www.sangerforum.no/SWAN - SINGING FOR LIFE CHOIRS REGIONAL GATHERING | Harleem (NL), 19 October 2024 | Website
Kanker in Beeld organised its first event in the SWAN project for Singing for Life choirs in the host city Haarlem on 19 October 2024.
Singing for Life choirs support people with cancer and their families, a model that Kanker in Beeld wants to share beyond borders. The theme of the day was “Connection” and along with dance and improvisational theatre, collective singing was at the heart of the event. Read about the event here - SWAN ATELIERS at the TURKISH CHOIR CULTURE ASSOCIATION GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Ankara (TY), 9 March 2024 Website
Within the scope of the SWAN Project, the (Turkish) Choir Culture Association (CCA) held two ateliers for music educators on 9 March 2024, during its General Assembly weekend. With the partnership of Sing Ireland, CCA aimed to provide psycho-social support for the music educators working in the earthquake zone (6 Feb 2023) utilizing the healing power of collective singing. The first atelier aimed to present the project to the target audience and invite people to join the project as collaborators, atelier leaders, or participants. A psychodramatist led the second atelier and invited participants to express their emotions through their voices.
THE PARTNERS
Coordinated by Norsk Sangerforum (NO), the project brings together the following partners:
- European Choral Association (DE)
- Kanker in Beeld (NL)
- Sing Ireland (IE)
- Feniarco (IT)
Sing Ireland will also cooperate with the Choral Culture Association (TR) for activities in Türkiye.
