Musical Memories Choir

The Musical Memories choir is a therapeutically designed choir that provides social support, cognitive stimulation and musical expression for people living with dementia and their family caregivers. The choir meet weekly in the Chapel at Heidelberg Repat. Hospital, and is open to anyone who is living with dementia or a carer for someone who has dementia. The choir involves 90 minutes of singing, followed by afternoon tea, during which members socialise, and information about other events relevant to members is provided. The choir is lead by a Registered Music Therapist, and occasionally participates in performances for various events around Melbourne.

There are currently very few non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions for people living with dementia (Pwd), and even fewer of these focus on the impact of caring on family caregivers (FCG). Musical Memories provides a space for PwD and FCG to come and share in positive experiences together, engage in reminiscence, and find social support amongst people with similar experiences. The choir has been running for a couple of years, and during this time, we have observed participants learning new songs with complex musical arrangements, and even in new languages, despite diagnoses that suggest they aren't able to learn new things.