An update on Kate
A couple of years ago I introduced you to fabulous Heydayer Kate, (55) a professional mezzo soprano with the Welsh National Opera, who talked about the very special singing project she had created for people in care homes suffering from dementia.
I had the chance to catch up with Kate again and to hear about the wonderfully inventive ways she’s managing to ensure that her Forget Me Not Chorus is continuing to share singing, and joy, in these difficult times.
“Pre Covid we had expanded to 10 choirs across Wales. Initially it was just me doing all the music, now there are five music leaders I’ve trained in the Forget Me Not Chorus way. We’ve won grants from the National Lottery and the Welsh Arts council and we reach over 350 people a week in care homes and the community.
Bringing residents and their families together
Since Covid, as we know, our care homes are facing the most dreadfully challenging of times. So bringing people isolated by dementia and unable to have visits from their families, together through singing is more important than ever. We’ve embraced zoom, like everyone else, and we do on-line rehearsals, with residents from five care homes at a time singing together. And then we bring family members into the zoom sessions as well to join their relatives they can’t visit.
Another way to join in
One of the biggest challenges for care home staff is keeping their residents stimulated and entertained, so the other thing we’ve done is to film Forget Me Not rehearsal sessions. We’ve sent a series of six rehearsal videos into care homes, to engage, motivate and encourage their residents to sing and move.
Kate leading a filmed Forget Me Not Chorus rehearsal
There are 67 care homes in Wales currently using them and we’ve also provided them to homes in Birmingham - the first time we’ve spread our work beyond Wales. The plan is to expand nationally and then globally!
The only reason I started the Forget Me Not Chorus was to make a difference, and that’s needed more than ever right now.”
You can find out more about the Forget Me Not Chorus, and hear samples of their zoom and rehearsal sessions (it’s quite something to have a mezzo soprano leading the singing, as you’ll discover) on their website.
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