Singing for joy: Jewish Care’s first choir competition for people living with dementia
Memory groups in Redbridge, Stanmore and Southend judged by choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone
Jewish Care’s music and singing groups, for people living with dementia in the community, came together for the charity’s first Singing for Joy competition at The Betty and Asher Loftus Centre campus in north London.
Members of the Sam Beckman choir in Friern Barnet, the Noé Nightingales choir at The Zalman and Ruchi Noé Centre in Stanmore, and The Dennis Centre’s music group in Redbridge – all of which are Jewish Care centres for people living with dementia – together with Jewish Care’s Singing for Memory groups in Redbridge, Stanmore and Southend, each performed alongside their carers to win one of six awards.
These were judged by a panel that included renowned choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone from ‘The Choir’, as well as Jewish Care’s chief executive Daniel Carmel Brown and director of care and housing services Rita Rousso.
Malone said: “Today is a beautiful day, seeing people coming together at any age and singing together and being part of a community. We all need that. It gives us hope. When you are living with dementia, singing is one of the few tools we have to help us retain our feelings, our emotions and our personality. I think it is the closest thing to magic. It’s so important for people to have access to fun, and singing is such a great way to do that.”
Tanya Miller, Jewish Care’s community hub manager in Friern Barnet, who organised the event, said: “We know that music and singing has huge benefits for people living with dementia. It helps to support and maintain cognitive abilities, reduce anxiety, boost confidence, stimulate memories, help maintain speech and language, as well as allowing people to express themselves, enjoy social interaction and have fun, which our members most definitely do. It’s very important to us that we support and empower people living with dementia to continue to do the things they have loved throughout their lives, as well as to enjoy learning new skills that stimulate them and help to instil confidence.”
Among the performers was Thomassina, who joined Jewish Care’s Singing for Memory group in Redbridge with her daughter, Nicole, about nine months ago, and sometimes attends with her granddaughter, Arabella.
Nicole said, “As a mother and daughter, joining the singing group is a great way for us to go out and spend time together, doing something that my mum really enjoys. She likes getting out the house and spending time talking to other people. We sing old songs, and she remembers the words. It’s lovely.”
Singing ‘Any Dream Will Do’, Thomassina and the rest of the Redbridge Singing for Memory group won the award for Best Group Harmony, with Gareth Malone saying: “I didn’t like it. I loved it!”
Rita, who has been attending the music session at Jewish Care’s Dennis Centre in Redbridge for about two years, sang ‘Getting to Know You’ with the rest of her group, winning the Timeless Voices award.
She said: “It was nice to sing a song I knew well. There’s no judgement. Singing makes me feel relaxed and gives me more confidence. Going to the Dennis Centre shapes my week.”
Jewish Care’s chief executive Daniel Carmel Brown added: “What a fantastic team effort! Everyone was singing in harmony and there was even a bit of dancing too. Thank you for bringing such joy into our afternoon. Days like these make me really proud of the important and meaningful activities we offer throughout our services, which really make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia in the community.”
‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You’ was the song choice for the Sam Beckman choir, which won them Most Emotional Performance. Edmond Jeffery, a music and healthcare practitioner who leads the group each week, said: “Singing gives the members a sense of community and achievement, and a new-found confidence, which I see grow after each session. They are such a great group of singers and characters.”
The Noé Nightingales, who have only been together for five weeks and sang ‘Those Were the Days’, won The “Feel Good” Factor Award with Malone saying: “There was so much passion and joy on your faces.”
Angela and Barry, who have been attending the Singing for Memory group at Jewish Care’s Sandringham campus in Stanmore for the past two years, sang ‘Hey Jude’ together with their fellow choir members. Talking about his wife, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease seven years ago, Barry said: “Angela comes alive at the group. She talks. She waves her hands. I see her happy and enjoying the company.”
The group’s performance earned them the Showstopper Award with an emotional Malone saying: “I don’t think I’m going to get through this afternoon without crying. You had the whole community joining in.”
The Singing for Memory group in Southend gave a video performance of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, winning them Most Creative Interpretation.
As well as running Singing for Memory groups in Southend, Stanmore and Redbridge, Jewish Care also supports Finchley Reform Synagogue and St Albans Masorti Synagogue to run these groups, and is training other synagogue community volunteers, including those at New North London Synagogue, to deliver sessions.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
