Welsh National Opera is launching a brand new singing group in Swansea for people with dementia, their friends and families. Starting on 12 March, and running on Tuesdays, the sessions will be held between 6.30 – 8.30pm so that people who work during the daytime can join in.
The choir is open to anyone living with dementia and their supporter (who needs to be 18 or over). Sessions run weekly at Taliesin Create, Swansea University, Singleton campus, with a final, informal performance to friends and family on 4 July at Taliesin Arts Centre.
With no auditions, no cost and all standards welcome, this is a great opportunity to enjoy music with your family member and make some new friends along the way. We’ll be singing a range of music, from The Beatles to Beethoven, with choir leaders Ros Evans and David Fortey to guide you along the way. Pianist Sian Davies will provide accompaniment and the repertoire will evolve to suit members of the group. Each session will end with refreshments, giving you chance to chat and get to know your fellow participants.
This forms part of a wider project that WNO are running in Swansea, working with two local primary schools to encourage the children to think about ageing, role reversals, compassionate caring and importantly, to learn more about dementia and how it affects those living with the condition. This work will be delivered via a series of creative workshops together with sessions led by the Alzheimer’s Society ‘Dementia Friends’ and will also enable the school children to meet and spend social time with people living with the illness.
At its heart, ‘Cradle’ is about caring and compassion, celebrating the possible and enabling a broader understanding about dementia which in turn will help build more tolerant and caring communities to enable those living with the condition to live as fully and creatively as possible.
To find out more contact Jenn Hill on 029 2063 5063 or jennifer.hill@wno.org.uk