Capturing the Power of Music for those Experiencing Dementia

One evening each May, representatives of metro Edmonton Rotary clubs gather to salute community members who are creating a lasting impact on the lives of others. Each participating club is invited to nominate one person to receive an Integrity Award.

These awards celebrate exceptional individuals for their service for others, either locally or internationally. Recipients—all of whom must be non-Rotarians—have demonstrated that integrity is not just a value but a way of life. What they do is consistent with Rotary’s Four-Way Test.

The Rotary Four-Way Test is a simple ethical guide used by people around the world to test the fairness and honesty of their words and actions.

The most recent nominee of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview was Dr. Anne Fanning, a retired professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta, who was the force behind the creation of the Music Mends Minds Society of Edmonton.

Music Mends Minds is a community-based, volunteer-led organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for older adults living with dementia, due to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or other neurodegenerative diseases, through the healing power of music.

There is evidence the musical memory can be evoked when short-term memory has been lost. Participating in musical activities can reduce anxiety, improve quality of life and emotional well-being. Musical memories tend to remain intact for an extended period, even in advanced stages of dementia. Individuals can recall and respond emotionally to music from their past, leading to moments of connection and joy.

Music Mends Minds welcomes about 40 participants to its Tuesday morning sessions in a space it rents at St. George’s Anglican Church, 11733-87 Ave. Participants and their care providers attend at no cost to sing familiar songs.

Anne learned about the program while visiting a friend in Los Angeles, where Music Mends Minds has existed since 2014. With a growing population of seniors in Edmonton, including many living with dementia, she realized there was need for a Music Mends Minds program here.

“My friend, who was also a physician, was living with dementia and was participating in the Music Mends Minds program there,” she says. “It was making a difference to his quality of life.”

Other Recent Integrity Award Nominees

Other Integrity Award nominees of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview in recent years include:

Janice Hengsback—a nurse who has participated in more 50 foreign medical missions, including serving as nurse co-ordinator on three Misión Claridad trips to Ecuador organized by the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview. Those trips improved the eyesight of several hundred people with cataract surgeries and optometry services.

Janet Sadowski—a co-founder Basically Babies in 1994—who continues to support the charity. Basically Babies gathers gently used baby clothes to assemble gender-specific layettes that provide babies with a wardrobe containing a one-year supply of clothing and accessories from their birth to first birthday.

Jimmy Morrison—the community relations manager at the Operation Friendship Seniors Society. The Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview has a long history of service with Operation Friendship which was established in 1969 and provides accommodation in five buildings for approximately 300 seniors in the inner city who might otherwise not have access to safe and affordable housing options.

Music Mends Minds Comes to Edmonton in 2023

The Music Mends Minds Society of Edmonton was established in late 2023 with seed money from the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview, which has also committed additional funding for the current year.

“Rotary’s support was important,” Anne says. “It got us started.”

Since then, the program has received government grants and donations from generous anonymous donors. The society will hold its first-ever fundraiser on Tuesday, October 27.

Anne says the goal of the program is not to form a choir of seniors. “It’s giving people an opportunity to get together. There is also a sense of community that has developed among partners of those suffering from dementia,” she says.

“It is an open, welcoming gathering. The sanctuary lends itself to an informal gathering.”

When participants arrive each week, they receive a binder filled with familiar songs.

“The song book includes songs chosen by the people in the room,” says music therapist Alieda Jaehn, who leads the sessions with accompanist Cherie Larson. “In the beginning, there were just a few songs in the book, but it has continued to grow because these are the songs that relate to their lived experiences.”

Someone who has been coming to Music Mends Mind since the beginning is Beth Wahl. Initially, she attended with her late husband Bill who had dementia.

“He loved being here because he always liked music. Music was an important part of his life.” Bill was a junior high and senior high school band teacher in Medicine Hat for more than 30 years, before he retired and the couple moved to Edmonton.

Since Bill’s death, Beth has continued to volunteer every week. “Being here is the highlight of my week,” she says. “I’m here to do what I can to support the program.”

She says Music Mends Minds is something that participants and their caregivers look forward to and she sees how the weekly sessions make a difference to those who attend. “Singing songs from their past is important to participants and lifts their spirits,” Beth says. “People leave with a smile on their faces.”

Beth credits the success of the program to Alieda and Cherie. “Their attitudes towards the music and the participants make a difference,” she says.

Anne agrees. “They work well together and they are responsive to the participants.”

For Cherie, being involved in Music Mends Minds is personal. She has had family members with dementia. “It would have been nice then if this program had been in place for them,” she says.

She witnessed the impact of music on people struggling with memory issues first-hand, when as a 12-year-old she visited a seniors’ home with her father to perform for residents.

“There was a man there who couldn’t recognize anyone but could sing all 14 verses of a hymn I played,” Cherie says.

Alieda describes music as “the language of my life. It’s what connects me with my family,” she says.

The atmosphere on Tuesday mornings at St. George’s is special for her. “No matter how I feel when I arrive, I always leave feeling a little bit lighter.”

Individuals interested in learning more about Music Mends Minds or in attending the Tuesday morning sessions can visit the society’s website.

As Alieda told participants at the end of a Tuesday morning gathering: “If we didn’t sing your song this week, come back next week and we just might sing it then.”