🎧 Singing group for people with memory loss and their caregivers fosters connection, joy

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public

WINOOSKI — On a recent Friday morning, about 40 people crowded into a Winooski community center to sing.

They sat in rows, swaying as they sang “You Are My Sunshine,” the lyrics projected on a screen at the front of the room. In the audience, a man played along on his harmonica, and a couple stood up to dance.

This gathering was part of Singing for People with Memory Loss and Their Caregivers. It’s an event series that aims to sustain memory and joy through music, and strengthen relationships between people with memory loss and those who care for them.

Singing for People with Memory Loss and Their Caregivers has two groups that meet weekly during seasonal sessions: one group in Winooski, and one in St. Albans. Many attendees — like Rachel Miller, who sings with the Winooski group — come regularly. 

“It’s terrific, it’s life, it’s happiness for me,” Miller said. “You make friends, and people you don’t know — all of the sudden you’re all laughing together. There’s so many positives to it.”

The program was founded in 2023 by Karen McFeeters Leary and Sheila Reed. It’s sponsored by Age Well, a nonprofit supporting older Vermonters. 

“The singing group draws on a big body of evidence that music can be one of the most potent forms of connection for people living with memory loss,” said Jennifer Harbison, a caregiver support specialist at Age Well.

Programs like this are increasingly relevant as Vermont’s population ages. About 6% of Vermonters aged 65 and older are living with dementia, and one in four caregivers report struggling with their own mental health, according to state health data. 

Both the Winooski and St. Albans singing groups are led by Karen McFeeters Leary. She’s a singer and certified music practitioner with a background in medical speech-language pathology. She said the program works so well in part because “musical memory is the last form of memory to leave us.” 

“We hear [music] first in the womb,” McFeeters Leary said. “We are exposed to it at the very, very beginning of our lives. And therefore, music can stimulate memory and reconnection with oneself, even in the late stages of dementia. So this is an important group. And it really does reconnect people with themselves and with their loved ones.”

Jennifer Harbison of Age Well agrees, and said the group offers something for all attendees. 

“For the caregivers, it’s a time to lay down their burden a little bit, and just sing along,” Harbison said. “And for people in various stages of memory loss, they can relate to what’s going on in the way that’s possible for them.”

Linda and Roger Pignataro have been coming to the Winooski sessions for a year and a half. They have been married for over 50 years, and they said the group helps them remember important times from when they were younger. 

Roger Pignataro was diagnosed with dementia several years ago. “We’re moving into a stage where remembering what it was like before is really important,” Linda Pignataro said. 

“That’s why each day is a day that’s special,” Roger Pignataro said.

The Singing for People with Memory Loss and Their Caregivers events are offered at no cost, and no musical experience is necessary. Drop-ins are welcome. 

In Winooski, the group meets Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Winooski Senior Center through May 19. In St. Albans, sessions run Wednesdays from 11 to 11:50 a.m. at the CarePartners Adult Day Center through May 20.

Participants are encouraged to come sing, dance and reconnect through music.