News

Music & Memories

October 28, 2024

New collaboration connects dementia sufferers with singer-songwriters

By Cassidy Pearce for the Western Weekender

A new new collaboration between The Royce, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), and the Talent Development Project (TDP), has culminated in a special event wherein Penrith Panthers great Royce Simmons was presented with a song inspired by his life story. The collaboration, an initiative called ‘Music and Memories’, aims to connect people with dementia with young singer-songwriters, who produce original music based on the life stories of participants.

According to Dr Craig Sinclair, Senior Research Scientist at NeuRA, the idea came about from his own background as a musician, inspiring him to do more research into the relationship between music and people. “I love music, and I’ve always found that it’s brought me wellbeing, and that’s a really strong experience that lots of us face through our lives,” he said. “For myself, as a scientist, and being very interested in conditions that impact on the brain, when we can see things that are available to everyone, like music, which can impact positively on our brains, that’s just such a wonderful thing to explore further.”

TDP Artistic Director and NeuRA Ambassador Peter Cousens said that he was keen to jump on board, due to the exciting prospect of bringing a greater purpose to music and using the young artists’ skills for good. “Music, and musicians and art have a role to play in society that is essential, and directed in the right way, it can have extraordinary influence, and be a fantastic support for good,” he said.

“In pondering and contemplating the relationship that the Talent Development Project could have with NeuRA, what we had to offer was extraordinary singer-songwriters – people who could take a subject and turn it into a piece of music that would be profoundly effective, beautiful, funny, exciting, thrilling, moving. That was our job.”

As part of the initiative, which began earlier this year, these singer-songwriters would create songs which bring out the essence of their subjects by conducting interviews with the person and those around them and looking at photos and other memories. Two of these were The Royce residents Ann Aboud and May Martin. Bianca Tulich said she was excited for these residents, and The Royce, to be involved in an initiative that not only fosters relationships but furthers research. “At The Royce, fostering connections is at the core of everything we do, and we are delighted to be a part of this program,” she said.

At last Thursday’s event, held at Café Royce, songs written by Jordyn Richards for Aboud and by Sam Green for Martin were performed. A new song written by Green for Royce Simmons was also performed for the first time.

Garnering emotional reactions from many, Cousens said he hopes that the songs, and the initiative as it continues, will have a significant impact on the lives of many. “We hope that these songs [are produced] in such a way that, for their loved ones, as the person who they once knew disappears, they are able to hold onto this song, and as years go by, we hope that these songs will always encapsulate these loved ones, in a similar way, I suspect that a photo or a video does,” he said.

Sinclair said that NeuRA is involved in research in many sectors and will continue to do so moving forward.