Woman with severe lung condition is taught to sing with the help of celebrity choirmaster

Celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone has helped a woman, who struggles to breathe, defy the impossible and learn to sing as part of his Breathless Choir Project.

Cynthia Davies, originally from Carmarthenshire, Wales, has bronchiectasis, a long-term condition that means that while she coughs heavily she cannot shift mucus from her lungs. Now 65, Cynthia was told that she wouldn’t live beyond 50.

Thanks to special techniques taught by Malone, Cynthia, alongside 17 seriously ill singers, was able to perform with the Breathless Choir in an emotional performance at New York's Apollo Theatre earlier this month.

Davies, who hasn't been able to sing since she was a child, believes that exposure to coal fires and second-hand smoke in the 1950s contributed to her condition.

At 28 she needed emergency surgery to remove half of her lung, and this year her health deteriorated further leaving her unable to leave the house without oxygen canisters.

Cynthia, 65, is defying the odds after doctors told her she wouldn't reach 50. Credit: Todd Westphal

"'I felt tethered to this 50-foot tube and felt it was a slippery slope," Cynthia said. But despite her illness her involvement in the choir has helped her remain resolutely optimistic.

"Most people were using oxygen, most in much more dire straits than me," she added. "The choir gave me somewhere to be a little more normal."

Choirmaster Gareth believed the choir would find strength in their singing. Credit: Todd Westphal

The Apollo Theatre performance marked World COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Day on 18 November.

Malone firmly believes that music has the power to positively impact people's lives. "All through history, people have sung and made music because it makes you feel better about yourself," he said.

"I see how much good singing has done in their souls, and I think a little bit in their bodies as well," he added.

Every member of the choir suffers from varying forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including a former opera singer who hasn't been able to use her voice for years, and front-line rescuer from 9/11, Lawrence Reiss.

Lawrence Reiss was was left with breathing problems from the debris of the 9/11 attacks. Credit: Todd Westphal

The training was incredibly tough for many of the singers who face a daily risk of seizures and blacking out. But Cynthia passionately believes that the end result was worth the struggle.

"Some of us are quite sick, people were collapsing and struggling. But he [Gareth Malone] got us all through," Cynthia said.

"This project made me realise I could do things I never thought possible," she added.