Celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III

How did you celebrate the Coronation in May?  Music24 marked the historic event with cake, colour and, of course, music!  Our Singing Café group in Welwyn Garden City had fun making majestic crowns, singing songs of celebration and sharing sumptuous baked confections known as cake, with plenty of second helpings!

As a tribute to His Majesty’s public service, we also spread the message about the act of volunteering highlighted by the Coronation weekend’s ‘The Big Help Out’ campaign.  Championing the positive impact that volunteering has on supporting local areas and communities across the nation, the campaign encouraged people to give volunteering a go for themselves.  We would like to thank all our current volunteers that help make Music24 possible.  From those of you who help out at our sessions to those who support us in countless other ways - thank you for everything you do!

If, in the spirit of King Charles III’s Coronation legacy, you would like to consider volunteering for us, more information is available here.  So please, get in touch with us directly, we would love to hear from you!

Comic Relief Campaign Shines a Light on Music24

We’ve been on the Beeb!  Our charity was part of this year’s Comic Relief campaign.  In March, one of our music groups was featured on BBC Morning Live and BBC Look East!  

BBC Radio 1 Early Breakfast host, Arielle Free, visited the Mind Our Music session at The Bear Club in Luton, before embarking on her ‘Tour De Dance’ challenge when she cycled and DJ’d for 50 hours across 5 cities in 5 days, to raise life changing money for Comic Relief that in turn, supports Music24 and many other charities.

Arielle enjoyed participating in our Mind Our Music session that supports adults with mental health conditions.  It was a pleasure to invite her to play some instruments and chat to group members and volunteers about their experiences.  It was wonderful to have her with us and to see her report on the TV!

Music24's Dementia Choir's Performance at Luton Dementia Conference

Participants of Music24’s dementia group in Luton were please to be invited to represent the charity at the Alzheimer’s Society’s Luton Dementia Conference 2022.

For the occasion, the group wrote a special song about being together and their experiences from the therapeutic music sessions they attend at Music24 every week. Here’s the group in action on Wednesday 12th October 2022:

Sing Together by Music24

Verse 1

Come and sit down

Tell me what’s going on

Just a cup of ‘Rosie Lee’

Soon it won’t take long

To see your smile again

Come on, my old friend – and let’s

Chorus

Sing – sing together

Sing – together we’re better

Sing – let’s sing together

Sing with me

Verse 2

Sometimes, it might get mad

And other times, we’re glad

You bring the sunshine to my heart

Yeah we have a good laugh – when we

Chorus

Sing – sing together

Sing – together we’re better

Sing – let’s sing together

Sing with me

Bridge

Sometimes when things get tough

Oh yeah, when you’ve had enough

I’ll be there for you

Like you are there for me! And we’ll –

Chorus

Sing – sing together

Sing – together we’re better

Sing – let’s sing together

Sing with me

Singing Cafe coming to Leighton Buzzard this May!

We’re pleased to report that we will be starting a new Singing Cafe in Leighton Buzzard from Friday 13th! We’re very excited to bring this new opportunity to residents in the Leighton & Linslade are and look forward to watching the group grow! Thank you to Leighton-Linslade Town Council for supporting this venture, it’s much appreciated.

We will set subsequently on the 2nd & 4th Friday afternoons of every month there after if all is a success. Details below:

A Carer's Confession by Di Pook

We are delighted to share a wonderful testimonial by Di. This makes our work worthwhile and us very happy, thank you!

"I knew Music24 were wonderful at their group sessions, but I remained sceptical as to the benefit of one-on-ones. Well, I was so wrong!

Dave my partner has Parkinson’s and Dementia and like many others has suffered from the isolation of lockdown resulting in a lack of interaction and his subsequent withdrawal.

As an avid sportsperson in years gone by, he was not at all musical which added to my doubts.

However, the transformation has been absolutely unbelievable as Dave not only managed to use drum sticks but laughed at the same time which he hasn’t done for so very long.

Teela and Graeme are the most amazing and inspiring people and I cannot say enough of a thank you to them for taking the time and trouble to get through to Dave. It not only lasted for the time they were here but he is still more chatty and responsive.

I also have to admit that I too am feeling better to see Dave happier and more aware so cannot praise them highly enough and I am now a true convert to music therapy!"

Di (Watford Music24 group)

Teela commented: “It was a perfect example of someone transforming before our eyes.The music offers a reference point for people to connect with. We live for these moments and we are so glad you got to witness what music can really do!”

Music24 celebrates Volunteers' Week 2021

At Music24, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the support and dedication of our team of volunteers. Here, Teela, our CEO, hosts an interview with three volunteers - Paula, Jackie and Brian, and they discuss what it is to be a volunteer and how it helps both the charity and themselves to achieve great things.

#DAW2021 - Sharing the powers of music and nature of community

Dementia Action Week is a national event that encourages people to take action to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.

One in three of us born in the UK today will go on to develop dementia in our lifetime, and there will be an estimated one million people living with dementia by 2025 making dementia care one of the greatest challenges facing our society.

We all have a role to play in making the UK a dementia-friendly place to live and that’s what Dementia Action Week is all about.

Here at Music 24 we work hard every day to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers. We are grateful to our funders and supporters for enabling us to enrich the lives of such wonderful people!

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Carole shares her’s and her husband’s experiences with Music24 throughout the last year…

My husband John is 78. In May 2020 he was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. Late last year Age UK phoned us to ask how we were coping with the lockdown. I said that I felt John's memory was definitely getting worse due to the lack of stimulation, and lack of contact with people.

Age UK put us in contact with Teela at Music24, John now benefits greatly from joining Monday afternoon singing sessions. As well as the singing there is always lots of friendly chatter and laughter coming from the room while he is on Zoom. John really enjoys meeting with the group each week and gets a tremendous amount from the sessions.

I have also gained so much support and friendship from joining the Carer’s Zoom group sessions that Music24 offers. The meetings enable us to support each other if it is a bad week for someone, but also enables us to share information and tips to help when certain situations that arise with our loved ones who have dementia. John and I are fairly early on in our dementia journey, but I feel that I am learning a lot from the other cares whose partners have more severe dementia. 

I have also benefitted greatly from the weekly group and 1:1 EFT tapping sessions. I definitely feel that the sessions have helped me to gain a sense of calmness and acceptance of where John and I are in life. As a carer it can sometimes feel quite scary worrying about just how bad things are going to become as John’s dementia advances. The group consists of really lovely people, and the sessions are led by Dawn who has such a great empathy with us all, and an insight into what makes us all tick. She can sense when we are not ok.

Last month Music24 put on a well-being day on zoom. John and I could not believe the effort and preparation Teela and her team put into putting on such an amazing day for us all. Yoga, meditation, mindful art, pebble painting. I think there were around thirty people all joined together on Zoom. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed spending the day with so many people all taking part in the activities in the safety of our own homes, while still being joined together. It was a very special, unique day enjoyed by everybody.

Teela and her Music24 Team put so much energy, enthusiasm and commitment into looking after us all. They make such a tremendous difference to our lives. I can’t begin to tell you how much benefit John and I have gained from being a part of Music24, and we count ourselves truly lucky and fortunate that Age UK put us in touch with them.

 Carole & John Cassidy

13th April 2021

This work was made possible by: