Claudia Bartsch found the speech therapy sessions she needed as part of her Parkinson's Disease treatment hard work.
So instead she swapped them for choir practice.
"With my Parkinson's, I had to work really hard with my speech therapist in order to get my articulation and my projection right," she said.
"My neurologist said I'm going really well, even though I'm not doing speech therapy anymore. I can come here and get the same benefits, plus more - plus friendships, plus uplifting spirit."
She is a member of the University of the Third Age (U3A) choir, which meets weekly at Wollongong Conservatorium, and finds the exercise singing provides her is more beneficial more than anything else.
And the health effects like those Claudia is seeing from group singing are being increasingly backed by science.
For instance, studies done by Toronto Metropolitan University show group singing significantly increases the pain threshold in patients with Parkinson's.
This increase likely occurs through a reduction in cortisol levels, the university found. Cortisol affects the metabolic, immune, circulatory, and central nervous systems and is often linked to stress.
Singing in a group counteracts this stress response and can provide participants with a hormonal detox or relief.
Claudia is just one of thousands of Illawarra residents benefiting from singing, with more and more choirs with more and more choirs popping up at pubs and halls from Scarborough to Kiama.
Additionally, the famous pub choir will be stopping in at Anita's Theatre this month, with tickets quickly selling out as people clamoured to take part.
Renowned musician and founder of Thirroul's Earth, Wind and Choir, Elana Stone, says the region's singing community was likely expanding as people craved social connection in response to digital isolation.
"I think people are feeling really socially isolated," she said.
"With things like social media, there's automation in a lot of industries and we lack those little interactions that we used to have throughout our days."
Earth Wind and Choir pop-up choir launched in 2018, and reinterprets and performs an eclectic mix of songs, from the likes of Tears for Fears and Blink 182, to Fleet Foxes and The White Lotus theme.
Open to all ages and abilities, the choir has performed at Thirroul Music Festival and Woodford Folk Festival.
Ms Stone says, in a divided world, it is "becoming more and more important to get in a room with another human and sing, tell stories and make art".
"I think people are craving that face-to-face interaction and they're interested in doing something that's 'scary', but actually is really rewarding, and they get that immediate sense of dopamine and serotonin," she said.
Aside from its mood boosting effects, Monash University Professor Natasha Smallwood says singing also has the potential to improve conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease.
"Group singing is increasingly used to manage symptoms and improve quality of life for people with neurological, mental health, and respiratory conditions, but we need more evidence to prove that this is beneficial, especially for people with interstitial lung disease," she said.
"Compared to usual care, taking part in [a singing] program led to improved quality of life for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or interstitial lung disease [progressive scarring and inflammation] with chronic breathlessness."
As well as the respiratory support it provides, the study shows that singing - especially in a group - improves quality of life for women and people with anxiety or depression.
Founder of Wollongong's Slap Dash choir, which started up last year and is designed to let people who have never sung before get involved in a choir, Elliot Peck said singing together allowed for a deep emotional connection.
"I think that singing is a really great way of tapping into something deep and more somatic," he said.
"We're often really cerebral in our lives of worrying about what's happening next and in this flight or fight, space.
"Whereas singing is really connecting you to the here and now, and also connecting to the deep emotion of music, so I think it's a way to grieve, to feel deeply into things, and also to experience real joy.
"The full spectrum it - the things you can't put words to."
U3A choir member Jan Liddiard says singing connected her with her late husband when he had dementia.
"When my husband had lost all speech, we could still sing together," she said.
"Singing was our only form of communication. He knew all the words".
The Wollongong Conservatorium has a specific dementia choir, where patients and carers are invited to engage with music.
Choir member James Stone, who does not have dementia, said singing with the dementia choir showed him the power of music and singing.
"I noticed that when we sang all the old songs from the '50s and '60s, they would light up," he said.
"These people would suddenly come alive and I've seen them get up and dance."
For many members, goping to the choir has become the highlight of their week, with Chris McCarthy saying simply: "I'd die if I didn't have this - I hang for it. I can't even stand it when we go on a break".
Wollongong Conservatorium of Music CEO Annette Brown said it was important to create these spaces in the community.
"Different choirs can do different things, so you've got this fabulous choir that is bringing people in community who are living alone, to spend time, to keep learning, to keep understanding, to connecting," she said.
"But then we've got a separate choir, which is a dementia choir, which allows the carers to get joy with their partners.
"So singing and choirs is vital because you can actually target it to the right need and the right time at that special moment".