After three months of weekly rehearsals the Voices in Motion choir is ready for its first performance.

The inter-generational choir is a joint project by led by , their family caregivers, and high school students from St. AndrewB次元官网网址檚 Regional school.

The group is holding its first public concert at St. AidanB次元官网网址檚 Church on Wednesday (May 2).

There are many goals for the choir, which is ending its 14-week pilot project and will continue as part of a larger two-year study that researchers how participating in a community choir fights stigma and fosters social engagement. Throughout the two years the researchers are interviewing the caregiversB次元官网网址� well-being, and the improved quality of life for persons with dementia.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e heard anecdotally that one of the participants is feeling less stigmatized,B次元官网网址� said project lead Debra Sheets, a professor of nursing at UVic. B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 able to talk more about having this condition, seen a bump in her cognitive function, itB次元官网网址檚 exciting, though itB次元官网网址檚 only anecdotal at this stage.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very uplifting,B次元官网网址� said Frank Peters, whoB次元官网网址檚 lived in Fernwood for 44 years with wife Mary, who has early onset AlzheimerB次元官网网址檚. B次元官网网址淲e like that fact that weB次元官网网址檙e singing with youth from the high school, it makes a world of difference for us.B次元官网网址�

The research team will now aim to start a second choir for September and is opening it to adults with all types dementia, though most people with dementia are diagnosed AlzheimerB次元官网网址檚.

B次元官网网址淭he brain canB次元官网网址檛 be repaired but there are always ways to optimize your function, and [what weB次元官网网址檝e seen so far] seems very promising from my perspective,B次元官网网址� said Stuart MacDonald, UVic professor of psychology.

Sheets said itB次元官网网址檚 the most robust study ever done on a choir for people with dementia.

B次元官网网址淚solation is now recognized as a serious threat to health, so much that in the U.K. there is now a Minister of Loneliness,B次元官网网址� Sheets said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e doing neuropsychological assessments, cognitive assessments, physiological assessments, studying social connections, network analysis, and looking at caregivers, students and participants.B次元官网网址�

Sheets and MacDonald are part of the project with UVic research affiliates Andre Smith (sociology), Mary Kennedy (music) and Carl Asche (economics) at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

The high school students, who come from nearby St. AndrewB次元官网网址檚 Regional school, are also being surveyed about their attitudes and knowledge about dementia before and at the end of the project.

B次元官网网址淚 am very interested in the point of view that being in a choir and singing can benefit people with AlzheimerB次元官网网址檚,B次元官网网址� said Grade 12 student Jack De Kock. B次元官网网址淎nd our singing has improved since we started practising together.B次元官网网址�

The project is funded by the AlzheimerB次元官网网址檚 Society Research Program and Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation. Island Health is the projectB次元官网网址檚 community collaborator.