Vocal Inspiration

The phrase “going virtual” has been heard perhaps ad nauseam in this world of the COVID-19 pandemic. But not only has this phrase been a part of one local nonprofit’s programming mission from its inception, but it also happens to take on an even more poignant level of importance for the people said organization serves.

The story of sINgSPIRE is inherently linked to its overarching parent nonprofit, Breathe Bravely, a local organization whose mission is to give voice to cystic fibrosis (CF). The disease, which impacts about 30,000 Americans, is a genetic condition in which those affected experience severely reduced respiratory function that can lead to life-threatening infections.

In turn, Breathe Bravely and its core initiative sINgSPIRE, were developed to give people living with CF an outlet that not only affects mental and emotional wellness, but also physical wellbeing. And born from a personal blog written by Sioux Falls local Ashley Ballou-Bonnema, Breathe Bravely has developed into a nonprofit with reach throughout the global CF community.

“I by my nature am a vocalist and a performer,” said Ballou-Bonnema, who has lived with CF her entire life and has discovered first-hand the root benefits of singing to lung function. “It was born out of this passion I had in my life for singing and seeing the life-giving impact it could have on my life as an individual with CF.”

sINgSPIRE instructor Maren Engel (right) works with a program participant over video chat. (Submitted Photo)

And as she underwent some tumultuous times on her CF journey, Breathe Bravely served as a personal outlet for Ballou-Bonnema who, as a lifelong musician, started to see her singing and CF paths intersect more and more.

“I started leaning into that reality,” she said.

sINgSPIRE is a multi-faceted program that was begun in 2017 that connects music educators with people living with CF throughout the United States and now the world, offering virtual vocal lessons and breathing exercises that can over time have a positive effect on lung function.

What began with three instructors—Ballou-Bonnema, as well as current sINgSPIRE teachers Natalie Campbell and Maren Engel—has blossomed into a worldwide effort, with more than 65 students of all ages served and 1,600 lessons logged.

“I anticipated us serving a lot of adolescents,” Ballou-Bonnema said. “We’ve had quite a few, but overwhelmingly the population that has been interested and has been coming back for session after session are adults.”

sINgSPIRE’s most recent 10-week session began in June, including 11 new students, all of whom are 30 or older. And the online component of the program serves as more than a way to involve more individuals across the globe—it also offers safety for the students, who deal with a especially vulnerable immune system, particularly when making close contact with other people living with CF.

“Our best bet was to take it online,” Ballou-Bonnema said, “which also allowed us to protect the health of the individuals we’re serving. The ability for them to have the opportunity and option to keep their spaces and their environments as safe as possible.”

And as the world became gripped with a global pandemic, sINgSPIRE was not only prepared to meet the challenge of virtual lessons—it’d been a part of the curriculum since day one.

“We were nervous about the virtual aspect at first,” Engel said. “Fast-forward to today, and it’s the way of the future now. We didn’t realize when Ashley started this program how progressive and innovative it would be. It’s really cool to be a part of a program that was doing that from the ground floor.”

According to Ballou-Bonnema, this is all the more important during a period where those with CF are having to be particularly stringent with quarantining because of their heightened vulnerability.

“In a time of uncertainty, we can remain that stable force in people’s lives that doesn’t have to change,” she said. “We get to continue offering that premise and foundation to our students in a creative and life-giving way that affects their overall health.”

This lack of interruption has allowed the sINgSPIRE team to keep innovating throughout the pandemic, including continuing its virtual choir initiative, wherein voices from across the global CF community are combined to form one unifying choral experience. This serves as another opportunity for people living with CF to connect musically in ways they perhaps never thought possible, according to Engel.

“They spend a lot of their time with doctors who talk about their lungs and all of these things about their bodies that aren’t working at 100 percent,” she said. “So not only are they participating in something they didn’t think they could do, but they’re also doing it well and impacting their health in a positive way. I think it gives a lot of students ownership in their experience.”

That health benefit is nothing new for Ballou-Bonnema, whose own experience has spelled out the importance of music in one’s head, heart and lungs.

“I approach an individual with any kind of compromised lung condition the same way I teach individuals with healthy lung function,” the music educator said. “All good singing is based upon the health of your breath, the foundation of that and the support you’re building.

“Gaining that awareness of how your breath is moving in your body and how you’re letting yourself sing—and utilizing music as a tool for that rather than as the end goal—it all serves that technique you’re building.”

The tireless work of Ballou-Bonnema and her team of teachers has culminated in positive feedback from the larger CF community and from local medical organizations. And they have no intention of slowing down.

“My intention with this program and organization has always been to fit the need of the community and rise to the occasion.”

“We’re in the middle of that right now. We’re seeing a need for connection and creative outlets and empowerment in a community that’s feeling very isolated and vulnerable,” Ballou-Bonnema said.

That’s taking the form of increased student capacities for virtual lessons and new initiatives, such as the Sound of CF, a sINgSPIRE workshop that culminates in the opportunity for participants to compose a song in tandem.

“There’s protection to be daring and courageous across a screen,” Ballou-Bonnema said. “This allows us to still have that outlet—to have that fulfilling medium that fills our souls and minds and, in our case, our lungs.”

Find out more about the mission of Breathe Bravely and the sINgSPIRE program at BreatheBravely.org.