UK Charity‘s Musical Project Demonstrates Power of Creativity for Those Living with Dementia
LONDON – A UK-based charity, Raise Your voice, is gaining recognition for its innovative work recording original music created collaboratively with individuals living with dementia. The project not only provides a creative outlet for participants but also offers compelling evidence of the cognitive and emotional benefits of musical engagement, prompting calls for further research into this often-overlooked form of support.
Raise Your voice, which intentionally limits its expansion too focus on quality of care, is now developing online tutorials to share its prosperous model with other groups hoping to replicate the programme. The charity’s work challenges perceptions of dementia, demonstrating that creative capacity can endure even as memory fades, and aims to highlight the potential of music as a therapeutic tool.
Founded on the belief that music can unlock expression and connection, Raise Your Voice brings together people living with dementia and trained musicians to compose and record original songs. The resulting music, described as “proof that dementia does not erase the capacity for creation,” provides a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit.
“Our work gives tangible evidence that creative collaboration can provide meaningful cognitive and emotional stimulation,” said Phil Dover, co-founder of the charity.
The project has also revealed unexpected benefits, according to Jane Haughton, the charity’s artistic lead and a former Royal Opera House singer. “It sounds a really weird thing to say about somebody with dementia,” she said, “But the joy and hope that creating music together brings is so positive and hopeful. If people could just capture a bit of the joy that we have in our sessions and bottle it, it would help so many families in our country who are facing such a sad diagnosis.”
Raise Your Voice hopes to draw the attention of dementia researchers to the potential of creative collaboration as a valuable form of cognitive and emotional support. With an aging population and rising rates of dementia in the UK, the charity’s work offers a hopeful and innovative approach to enhancing the quality of life for those affected by the condition.
