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Choir fights dementia through song

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20 Nov 2012
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The Forget-me-Not’s are lead by professional opera singer Kate Woolveridge, who amongst her many accomplishments was recently named Inspirational Woman of the Year by ITV. Alt Cardiff caught up with her during one of the choir’s rehearsals to talk about her recent award, the challenges that go with conducting a choir of this kind and the superbly positive impact it has on the lives of the participants.

Image courtesy of http://www.walesonline.co.uk/

How did you first get started on the project?

“The choir came about through the Welsh National Opera (WNO), I was working as a freelance and part of my job for the last fifteen years has involved singing to dementia patients in homes. So because I did that anyway, and I also ran community choirs for WNO, it seemed right to put those skills together. So myself and Sarah Teagle had the idea to actually form a choir for dementia sufferers and their carers. The project was originally funded by the Alzheimer’s society and Welsh National Opera. 

So how long have you been going?

“The whole thing was set up two years ago, unfortunately the funding was pulled by WNO who had no more money in their pot, so we set up on our own and that is when it became the Forget-me-Not chorus which has been going for 12 months now.”

What do you think people who attend gain from the experience?

“What we’ve found is that people with Dementia often can’t remember coming but they will remember the amazing feeling singing in the choir gives them, that release of pheromones if you like, even if they don’t remember the rehearsal they come out feeling good. The people who care for them, which is obviously a tasking job being carers 24/7, say the first thing that goes is the confidence of the person with dementia, they don’t want to do anything, so we provide a safe environment for the person with dementia, and the carer, to have a bit of fun together. Nobody feels concerned or embarrassed because it is safe, and that really matters.”

What are the challenges you face with a choir like this as oppose to your average choir group?

“Interesting question, I would say that the balance is about not demanding too much, because you have to remember that the people doing it are doing it just for fun and essentially therapy if you like, and on the other hand not to patronise, if we don’t rehearse properly we won’t get any better and nobody wants to be patronised, so the challenge is to get the balance right between challenging them to be good and not driving them too hard.”

You recently won ITV’s Inspirational Woman of the Year, congratulations, can you tell me a little about how it felt to win such a prestigious award?

“First of all it was very embarrassing, because the title felt silly to me and this isn’t me trying to sound modest or humble, but the people who are caring for their loved ones with dementia are the real inspirations, I just pop along once a week and wave my arms about and have fun. So I was slightly uncomfortable with it, but then I had a talking to myself and realised it was about raising the profile of the choir and then I was absolutely all into it and the publicity has been fantastic! It was just that initial feeling that these people here are more of an inspiration than I am.”

If you or anyone you know suffer from dementia why not get involved in the Forget-me-Not Chorus, by heading to their website http://www.forgetmenotchorus.com/ where you can also find information on upcoming concerts including the Christmas Concert, on Monday the 17th of December.

The Forget-me-Not chorus is something quite remarkable.

The forty strong choir, which rehearses every Monday in Rhiwbina, is made up of Dementia sufferers and carers, many of whom are in the later stages of the disease and find it difficult to communicate.

Does that stop them singing? Far from it, the group belt out the classics with wondrous ability as they rehearse for the choir’s annual Christmas concert.  

Singing engages different areas of the brain, explaining why so many sufferers are able to sing but struggle to talk.

The Forget-me-Not’s take a break from rehearsals for their upcoming Christmas concert on Monday December 17.

Alan Cummins, whose wife suffers from Dementia, spoke about the positive impact the choir has had; “Dementia gives the sufferer and carer a tremendous feeling of isolation. When you come here you feel part of a community, it’s fantastic.”   

The Forget-me-Not’s are lead by professional opera singer Kate Woolveridge, who amongst her many accomplishments was recently named Inspirational Woman of the Year by ITV. Alt Cardiff caught up with her during one of the choir’s rehearsals to talk about her recent award, the challenges that go with conducting a choir of this kind and the superbly positive impact it has on the lives of the participants.

Image courtesy of http://www.walesonline.co.uk/

How did you first get started on the project?

“The choir came about through the Welsh National Opera (WNO), I was working as a freelance and part of my job for the last fifteen years has involved singing to dementia patients in homes. So because I did that anyway, and I also ran community choirs for WNO, it seemed right to put those skills together. So myself and Sarah Teagle had the idea to actually form a choir for dementia sufferers and their carers. The project was originally funded by the Alzheimer’s society and Welsh National Opera. 

So how long have you been going?

“The whole thing was set up two years ago, unfortunately the funding was pulled by WNO who had no more money in their pot, so we set up on our own and that is when it became the Forget-me-Not chorus which has been going for 12 months now.”

What do you think people who attend gain from the experience?

“What we’ve found is that people with Dementia often can’t remember coming but they will remember the amazing feeling singing in the choir gives them, that release of pheromones if you like, even if they don’t remember the rehearsal they come out feeling good. The people who care for them, which is obviously a tasking job being carers 24/7, say the first thing that goes is the confidence of the person with dementia, they don’t want to do anything, so we provide a safe environment for the person with dementia, and the carer, to have a bit of fun together. Nobody feels concerned or embarrassed because it is safe, and that really matters.”

What are the challenges you face with a choir like this as oppose to your average choir group?

“Interesting question, I would say that the balance is about not demanding too much, because you have to remember that the people doing it are doing it just for fun and essentially therapy if you like, and on the other hand not to patronise, if we don’t rehearse properly we won’t get any better and nobody wants to be patronised, so the challenge is to get the balance right between challenging them to be good and not driving them too hard.”

You recently won ITV’s Inspirational Woman of the Year, congratulations, can you tell me a little about how it felt to win such a prestigious award?

“First of all it was very embarrassing, because the title felt silly to me and this isn’t me trying to sound modest or humble, but the people who are caring for their loved ones with dementia are the real inspirations, I just pop along once a week and wave my arms about and have fun. So I was slightly uncomfortable with it, but then I had a talking to myself and realised it was about raising the profile of the choir and then I was absolutely all into it and the publicity has been fantastic! It was just that initial feeling that these people here are more of an inspiration than I am.”

If you or anyone you know suffer from dementia why not get involved in the Forget-me-Not Chorus, by heading to their website http://www.forgetmenotchorus.com/ where you can also find information on upcoming concerts including the Christmas Concert, on Monday the 17th of December.

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