The reason was “apprehension”, she said, so Jason tried to reassure her, saying: “Don’t be afraid. And her solo part was to be the opening act.

“More importantly, they meet more friends … which is wonderful for them,” he said.īefore they could perform, however, there was a late twist - with one week to go - when Jacqueline told Jason she did not think she would be singing in the concert. And he concluded that choral singing can indeed improve cognition, albeit based on a small sample size. Their social connectedness improved by 5.4 points, while their anxiety level fell by 2.4 points. Her personality is there: She’s funny, she’s smart … just much slower.” So wait for the ‘eeeee’, then the answer will come,” she said. “Our Internet is very fast, right: 3G, 4G, then 5G. Then (with the) circuit breaker and all that, it was a steep decline.”Ĭharmaine often uses an analogy to describe her mother to people. But there was a stabilising period where she could walk on her own and everything. “Right from the beginning, Mum would be physically much weaker. And she doesn’t run away from it any more,” said Charmaine. But after a while she accepted it, and then she (put a brave face on) it.

“She’s like, ‘Don't tell anyone’, that kind of stuff. The diagnosis “was a shock to all of us, to her as well”. Two years after retirement, she began to develop symptoms of dementia.

WATCH: Part 1 - Can singing slow dementia? I start a dementia choir to find out (46:25)įor Jacqueline, singing is not only something she likes, but also something she did when she was working: She used to work in childcare and would sing to the children. The road to the concert - documented in the new CNA series, Sing To Remember - turned out to be filled with tears, with glimpses into the realities of living with dementia and with some unexpected turns.Īnd it does offer an answer to the question of whether music can slow the decline caused by one of the most threatening diseases in an ageing population. That is what Jason Lai, the principal conductor of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra, did recently when he formed Singapore’s first performance choir made up of nine people with dementia and their carers.Īnd the task ahead of him was to get them to sing in a concert on Orchard Road, within three months. How about putting her, and others with dementia, in a choir to see whether choral singing can help to improve their cognitive and psychosocial well-being? While there is no cure for the debilitating condition she has, is there something that can make a difference to the way she feels?

Stress but everyone sings it