APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – With Appleton’s Mile of Music starting Thursday, a special group kicked off the festivities in a meaningful way.
The Paper Valley Hotel was packed on Thursday morning with people listening to a performance by ‘On a Positive Note Chorus,’ a group made up of dementia patients and their caretakers.
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The chorus members are all a part of Fox Valley Memory Project, which offers support in a variety of ways to those who have been or are affected by dementia.
Conductor Debrah Scott said there is a community that has been built among all the members.
“They come to choir week in and week out with a spouse or a neighbor, a son or daughter, or a friend, and it is about building this community together,” Scott said.
Music is a stimulant for the brain, and for those struggling with memory loss, it can help bring back memories that are often lost.
“There is a science behind music and what it does for our brains, the connections that it forages and the neurons that are firing. You can see that in action as you’re watching the performance today,” Scott said.
Jan Vanenkevort, a member of the choir, joined with her husband, who passed away from dementia. For her, music was a way her husband was able to connect with the people around him, even when he was unable to speak.
“He loved music. He would just remember singing and the polka; he practically jumped out of his chair. That was just his form of communication,” Vanenkevort said.
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The choir finished their performance with an original song, as the lyrics tied to the theme of the day:
“When words fail, music speaks.”
For more information about the Fox Valley Memory Project, visit their website.
