In a former synagogue in Los Angeles, more than 100 strangers gathered on a recent evening to learn and perform a song from the Hannah Montana movie. The event, a one-day choir hosted by the Gaia Music Collective, was part of a growing trend of pop-up choral groups that provide connection and a sense of transcendence in an increasingly isolated world.
"There's just something so ineffably spiritual about singing with such a large group of people," said Kristen West, 29, a participant. "I think they call it collective effervescence. It's basically what makes church so magical."
Gaia, which started in a Brooklyn apartment during the pandemic, has brought thousands of people together in New York and other cities, including Los Angeles, Toronto, and Brisbane. The gatherings come amid what the US surgeon general identified in 2023 as a loneliness epidemic, with declining social interaction and a drop in religious attendance.
"People are hungry for opportunities to make music, but they're also hungry for opportunities to connect with other people," said Asher Blank, a Gaia organizer and conductor.
At the LA event, participants described the experience as filling a void and even healing. "It restored a piece of my soul that was missing," said Darcy Calabria, 30. The organizers encouraged singers to share what was on their minds during breaks, turning the event into a form of therapy for $15 to $35 a ticket.
Blank emphasized the physical and emotional impact: "Feeling my actual body resonate with the sound of my voice, and feeling my body be sort of the vessel and the carrier of that sound, in community with other people who are doing the exact same thing, is just an incredibly powerful experience."
The evening began with silent warmups, then split into six vocal parts to learn Miley Cyrus's The Climb. The focus was not on perfection but on collective effort. After rehearsing technique and discussing the song's meaning about the journey over the destination, the choir sang the piece three times: first in sections, then while walking around, and finally intermingled with piano accompaniment.
Kevin Duffin, 43, who has attended several such events, said: "You come out of it feeling so high, and so optimistic, and like anything's possible. It's almost like connecting to your inner child, as woo-woo and hokey as that sounds."
For many, the choirs fill a spiritual void left by organized religion. West, a former evangelical who left the church in 2022, said: "When I left organized religion, the act of singing with a collective was something that I really grieved and I really missed. So there was something so healing about having a space like this."
Despite the hokey potential, even skeptics found themselves swept up. As one participant noted, surrounded by others engaged in a collective effort, it was impossible not to feel "connected to something bigger than me."