Dementia Choirin Ballarat reaches bright notes in ageing dilemma

Dementia is a major health issue across the nation as cases of people living with the disease are set to more than double in Victoria the next 35 years.

Most common in people aged 65-plus, Ballarat has the compounding factor of a greater ageing population - the city's median age of 42 years was clear above the state (37 years) and national (38) averages, according to 2016 census data.

It is unclear how a fast-growing population will also play into this.

There were more than 3100 people living with dementia in Ballarat before the pandemic. What Ballarat has in its favour is recognition as one of Victoria's seven dementia-friendly cities.

From this has sprung a dementia choir offering a safe space for people living with dementia and their loved ones to sing, have some fun and, at times, cry together in shared, favourite tunes.

"YOU can't beat singing," Max Lawson says as to why he loves being part of Ballarat's Bigger Hearts Dementia Choir.

Max, who is in the early stages of dementia, shares the experience with his daughter Helen Lawson, for some fun father-daughter time each week.

Helen herd about the Ballarat choir through her sister-in-law and said it seemed a good fit for Max, who loved to always be doing something.

"My dad loves singing and has sung for most of his life - he's always been in choirs and was in The Sound of Music in Ballarat once," Helen said. "It's a good time for us."

Bigger Hearts Dementia Choir started a year ago via the Shiell siblings: Kerrie is a neuropsychologist, Mark is an orchestra conductor and Michael is an experience arts administrator, who helped secure funding to start.

Their parents had been watching a BBC documentary on a dementia choir in Nottingham, England, and suggested they all watch it.

A text from Mark, "shall we?" was all it took to spur them into action.

The idea is the choir is for people with dementia and their loved ones. Helen soon found she could not help but be enticed to join in.

Choir afternoons have also become a source of support and socialising for the pair.

"You meet lots of people here. I love meeting people all the time," Max said. "You can't beat singing."

Kerrie Shiell has worked with people with dementia the past 15 years. She said studies worldwide showed music could improve symptoms of depression in people with dementia. This was also one key finding from the Nottingham choir.

Ms Shiell said there was a noticeable joy in people leaving Ballarat choir sessions and even though some might not later remember having been to choir, their mood was buoyed for a couple of days.

Often she will get phone calls from participants asking if they could join the choir - knowing it was something important to them.

London-based neuropsychologist Sebastian Crutch told the BBC the right music could transport you back in time and unlock old memories.

York Street Church of Christ is where David Westaway met his childhood sweetheart Lennyce and had their first date, and first kiss. This is the church where they were married 65 years ago.

More than 60 years on, the old church - now a function room as part of an expanded church building - is where they sing together.

It was through David's help that the Bigger Hearts Dementia Choir found a home amid last year's strict, changing COVID-19 restrictions.

Lennyce has been living with dementia for about 10 years and David said the church remained an important part of their heritage.

They have a special feature role in the choir now. David will hold Lennyce's hand in Elvis' Love Me Tender and sing his beloved a solo verse.

"Music does something different in the brain," David said. "We sing in the car. Lennyce can remember all the musicals - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein. We sing together."

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The project has challenged and surprised Mark Shiell, whose work will include conducting for Ballarat Symphony Orchestra this year.

Mr Shiell started out conducting like he would any other choir with corrections on pronunciation and timing.

He realised this was not the right fit. The past two weeks alone, adding solo sections or smaller group features has taken the sessions to the next level. Max Lawson loves to do the classic Louis Armstrong finish to What a Wonderful World.

"I'm focusing more now on the people we're here to help. I am learning to just allow the experience and roll with it," Mr Shiell said. "...It's a lot more about reactions. It is a different kind of experience than I have been used to."

Mr Shiell has come to love the experience as much as his sister has passion for improving the lives of people living with dementia - Kerrie Shiell says this is what gets her up in the morning.

They have also relished the chance to bring together their skills as siblings, with brother Michael, to help make a difference for others. They have added Jane Nice on piano, on the back of her work as musical director for Ballarat Lyric Theatre's We Will Rock You.

The dream is to stream the choir sessions into residential aged care but for now, they hope to work on building back up choir numbers as people feel more confident to socialise.

To join, email biggerheartschoir@gmail.com.

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