History
Co-founders Mary Lenard and Marge Ostroushko were struck by recent discoveries about the powerful effects of music on the lives of people with dementia. Both had cared for parents with dementia and felt a call to contribute their experiences and their energy to building a new program that allowed people with dementia and their care partners to live better—with joy, with purpose, with friends, and with each other.
After receiving funding for a pilot program, Mary and Marge joined with MacPhail Center for Music and MacPhail teaching artist Jeanie Brindley-Barnett to launch the first Giving Voice chorus. MacPhail is America’s largest community music school and its MacPhail Music for Life™ program, co-founded by Brindley-Barnett, provides music classes and ensembles for adults 55+. Housed in MacPhail’s Antonello Hall, the chorus began weekly rehearsals in September 2014 with 30 participants and is now more than 100 strong.
A second Giving Voice chorus launched in St. Paul, Minnesota, in September 2016, a collaboration of Giving, MacPhail, Lyngblomsten, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, HealthPartners Center for Memory and Aging, and Jewish Family Services of St. Paul.
Amazing Grace, an African American-focused chorus, is launching in St. Paul in 2018.
Future
Giving Voice is supporting the launch of choruses for people with Alzheimer’s and their care partners in diverse communities worldwide, triggering a movement that celebrates the potential of people with Alzheimer’s.
Our tools are allowing choruses to share their successes, challenges, and best practices. Giving Voice is also developing specialized training for music directors and other chorus personnel to help them work more effectively with singers with dementia.