Opera Holland Park Inspire ran two Music for Dementia projects in the summer of 2024, at Westbourne Park Day Centre and Chamberlain House, day centres caring for people with dementia and other needs. The aim of the project was to use music as a tool for wellbeing and connection. Two OHP singers, Maciek O’Shea and Melodie Hornett tell us what it was like being part of this project.
This project was generously funded by the Pusey Family Memorial Fund.
Could you explain what the project was that you delivered?
Maciek: I led 5 interactive music sessions for a group, mostly comprising of people living with Dementia and other memory loss issues, who attend the Westbourne Park Day Centre and the staff.
Melodie: The project with Chamberlain House was to bring music based activity sessions into their Dementia Resource Centre, enhancing the wellbeing of their regular service users by connecting them with familiar music and encouraging social engagement. Music can not only be a great comfort to those living with Dementia, it is also known to ease levels of anxiety and help maintain speech and language ability so it is a hugely important part of Dementia care.
What kinds of activities did you do with the service users?
Maciek: I ran vocal ice-breaker exercises using songs, call and response, vocalisations, clapping and stomping, and physical warm-ups including body and facial stretching. We chose themes each week and sang songs together that related to that theme, often providing word sheets for those participants who wanted the text. We would often read through the text and go-over key passages to help recognition. The hope was that the themes and music chosen would stimulate stories and discussion and we tried to encourage this and allow the participants to share their connections and responses to the music.
More in-depth, I also choose certain songs to do a bit of work on musical expression and phrasing, included opera/classical repertoire for the participants to experience and enjoy listening to, and tried to take requests to understand and accommodate the musical tastes of our audience.
How did you go about planning and structuring the sessions?
Melodie: I’ve performed at hospital and care settings for a number of years now so I was able to apply the experience I’ve gained previously to this project. I spoke with the setting in advance to understand the needs and wants of their service users. I always start off by wearing colourful outfits, as even when someone has a visual impairment, they can still make out bright colours. I also like to bring small props and for some of the sessions I planned themes; for example, one session included a number of songs about birds, so I handed out little bird gliders for the service users to play with during the songs. Another session had songs that were fantasy themed, so I gave everyone a sparkly windmill to take home as a memento.
Individual experiences of Dementia vary greatly between one person and another. Often when asked what music they like, a person living with advanced Dementia may not be able to remember the lyrics or the name of the song/singer, but when they hear a song the tune will be in their memory. For some sessions I ran sing-a-longs and gave everyone printed copies of the lyrics to support their participation.
I found that returning to the same setting several times gave me a wonderful opportunity to get to know the names of the service users, which enabled me to make my performances more personal. I also worked with the staff to understand what genres of music would be most enjoyable and paid attention to the responses I received from each song, in order to tailor the sessions. I ended up singing an eclectic mix including famous arias such as Bizet’s Habanera, Puccini’s Vissi d’Arte and Gershwin’s Summertime, alongside Hebrew folk songs, movie/musical classics, and Rock & Roll.
What was the impact of the work that you could see?
Maciek: We tried to generate a welcoming, collaborative and interactive space where the participants could feel relaxed with ourselves and each other. It was lovely to see the group enjoying singing and dancing together, and listening to each other’s contributions. During the sessions, individual participants displayed a range of positive reactions to the music and the activities. There was a strong sense of joy and fun, as well as moments of reflection, reminiscence and emotion. Participants seemed to be motivated, energised and inspired at the end with a sense of anticipation for the next session!
Melodie: Music connects people to their past, igniting memories that may be far back in the mind. I noticed that after even the first session some of my audience were comfortable enough to tell me about how certain songs reminded them of family or friends, there were many comments like “my father used to sing this to me”. Some of the service users would become emotional when deeply moved by a piece of music; we often held hands and had a hug when this was the case. I was asked questions about where I am from and my family which was wonderful as it showed my audience felt inspired to openly communicate with me and learn about my world.
Several of the service users previously did not want to stay for the afternoon activity, but members of staff told me this behaviour had changed significantly after these music sessions began – they had become more engaged in the afternoon sessions in general, and were showing an interest not only in when I was next visiting but also in other activities on offer.
As both professional singers, what do you see as the benefit of doing this kind of work as a freelance singer?
Maciek: Music has the power to improve and transform our quality of life. It is a great privilege to try and use music and movement to have a positive impact on other people. I learn a lot from the participants, carers and fellow musicians: how to engage effectively with an audience, different interactive techniques, introduction to new repertoire, new actions and physical responses to the music.
Melodie: When I started outreach music I was a very nervous performer and found singing to small groups of people in close proximity daunting and intimidating. The reaction you receive from those living with advanced Dementia can be extreme, both positive and negative, there were times when I thought it wasn’t for me. However, I persevered and have learned to really love the diversity of working with Dementia. More often than not there are gloriously touching moments. For me personally, my confidence has massively improved when performing in intimate settings and I’ve found an ability to talk to my audience, which was something I struggled with for a long time.
Why do you think it’s important that companies like OHP continue to do this kind of outreach work?
Maciek: The benefits of interactive music making of this nature on the participants are so powerful and wonderful. Working with a group over a number of weeks gives the opportunity to have a bigger impact allowing a rapport and understanding to be built within the group and for the programmes to be more tailored to the participants and their needs. Bringing a powerful musical experience directly to the participants who might find it challenging to attend the theatre is something that is wonderful and vital and I hope this kind of outreach work will continue.
Melodie: The greatest thing about the Inspire programme is the range of people who benefit from its existence. There is something suitable for everyone, whether a phone or video recital, live performance in small settings, school tours to introduce children to opera, or a visit to the theatre for one of our full-scale productions. People of all ages, abilities and backgrounds can access world-class music through the Inspire programme.
Interview by Isabella Farrell.
