This year marks 10 years since Canberra's own Alchemy Chorus dementia-friendly choir was established by Brian Triglone and the milestone is being celebrated with a short but lively concert at Weston Creek Uniting Church in Weston on Saturday, June 20 at 2.30pm.
The choir will be singing most of its favourite songs and, as always, encouraging the audience to join in.
An added bonus to the concert will be an item by Louise Page, one of Canberra's best-loved sopranos who is patron of the chorus.
The choir is for people with dementia, their spouses, their carers, their relatives and volunteers. But it's not about singling out those who have dementia.
During its 10 years, the Alchemy Chorus has won the Chief Minister's Award for Inclusivity and a Positive Ageing Award from the ACT Council on the Ageing. It has also been instrumental in the establishment of nine similar choirs across Australia.
The chorus sings at the Hughes Community Centre and has developed strong intergenerational links with the children at Hughes preschool and primary school. This year there have been two combined concerts with the children, so that the participants were aged from four to 94.
"It's including them in a community activity, not just one that they can do on their own," Mr Triglone said in a profile about the choir in 2019.
"There's no sort of sympathy. We don't want sympathy. We can sing. We're a choir and everyone's involved in it."
The choir is called Alchemy Chorus, according to Mr Triglone, "because it's a blending of things to come up with something beautiful".
"Above all, Alchemy Chorus provides two hours each week when those living with dementia and their wonderful carers can immerse themselves in familiar songs and be part of a welcoming, understanding group, leaving dementia at the door," he said.
Entrance to Saturday's concert is by donation. All proceeds will go to the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre at the University of Tasmania.
