ABSTRACT
Recent literature has pointed to a need to expand the definition of music education by thinking beyond high school or college music programs as the end of the road in music learning. Staying active and lifelong learning play important roles in maintaining good health and a high quality of life as people near retirement. According to the World Health Organization (2014), the number of adults over 80 years of age will quadruple to 395 million worldwide by the year 2050. Since adults are living longer and are more likely to have time and the means to participate in musical ensembles later in life than when they were establishing careers and raising young children, choral singing is an ideal way to involve a large number of people in music making as it does not require the purchase of expensive equipment, nor does singing in a choir require extensive background knowledge and years of training (Rohwer, 2011).
