A new project titled ENSEMBLE (Encouraging Neighbourhoods to Support European Mental Health By Leading through European Song) aims to raise awareness on the importance of mental health through choral music.
Behind it is a consortium, made up of the choirs Ondamarela from Portugal, VOCA from Malta and Voces Blancas del Nalón from Spain.
Under the artistic direction of Tim Steiner, the three entities met mental health professionals and institutions in their countries to have a better grasp of this important topic.
In the case of VOCA, a mental health workshop was organised in collaboration with the Richmond Foundation to give members a more holistic view of mental health. The Spanish choir, in turn, visited a house for the elderly, as well as a main mental health institution in their region.
The lessons learned were translated into an original choral SATB song entitled I Hear You. Written and composed by Steiner and Ricardo Baptista, the song was officially launched during a Music and Mental Health Conference organised in Guimarães, Portugal, on April 11 and 12.
In the first part of the song, the lyrics emphasise the importance of hearing one another in the darkest of times, while the second part, which is more cheerful, underlines how music can help uplift anyone experiencing mental health challenges.
I Hear You has been translated into the 24 official EU languages and Ukrainian, and also launched in sign language.
One can listen to it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJmEcfcpjfE (click on the “CC” button and select the subtitle language through the settings).
The sign language version can be accessed at https://youtu.be/uZwFZ0jaaPI.
A documentary about the project is also available here.
ENSEMBLE is co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme under the CREA-CULT-2024-COOP (Small Cooperation Projects) Call with official reference number 101173900, as well as the NGO Co-Financing Fund 2025 under reference NCF 09/2025, offered by the Maltese Ministry for Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector and administered by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector.
