The History of Healing Singing

Healing Singing was founded by Elli Ellsworth and Jeff Olmsted at the Manhattan Center for Living  (an outreach center for individuals with life threatening challenges) in late 1989.   We are all deeply grateful to Elli and Jeff for giving us the beautiful gift of Healing Singing.

In the very early stages there were just a few that participated, maybe 5 or 6 people for the first year but as time went on word spread about the group and the ranks continued to grow steadily. 

The process had a life of its own.  It took us on a journey no one anticipated.  The founders acted as witnesses and offered an environment of love, support and freedom.  It was more a collaboration of individuals "allowing" and "letting" things take their course. The first few sessions were devoted to breaking the ice and giving ourselves permission to sing. Then after a while and I do not remember when it started, members began to tell their stories through music.  They expressed themselves with a level of honesty that was beyond words.   It became clear the group was not a performance workshop but rather a place where we could express ourselves... our experience strength and hope through music.  Those of us that were in the room in those early days were witnesses to the fact that every person that walked through the door had something important to offer the group.  The miracles were quiet ones, hearts opened. People healed emotionally and blossomed creatively. There was a kind of  love in the room that made it easy to just let go.  We cried together,  laughed together, there were many quiet moments beyond description,  sublime. Some of the most profound experiences of our lives happened in that room. 

As the result of the popularity of the first group another group was formed in 1992 at Friends Indeed  which had a similar legacy to the first group and ran for a couple of years. The first group continued at the Manhattan Center for about five years until the Manhattan Center's closing in 1994. 

There have been a few different incarnations of the group since then with the most recent at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center since late 1999 until the present.