A WOOD NORTON retirement village hit all the right notes when it teamed up with BBC Music Day to help achieve their aim of bringing music to everyone in the UK living with dementia.
In celebration of BBC Music Day, the Evesham-based Richmond Village development held a concert for residents and those living in the local community to enjoy an afternoon of singing and sharing memories to help to bring music to those living with dementia.
Lead singer from the 60s band The Fortunes, Chris Hutchinson, visited the village, where his mother is a resident, to perform a concert of the band’s classics.
Hits included ‘Here It Comes’ and ‘You’ve Got Your Troubles’, as well as a selection of the village resident’s favourite songs.
Head of activities, Judith Lewis said: “It has been great to collaborate with the BBC as part of its Music Day project, helping to bring music to everyone in the UK living with dementia.
“We’d like to thank Chris Hutchinson for coming and performing at Richmond Wood Norton, our residents thoroughly enjoyed the concert and reliving songs of their past.
“Bringing music to people living with dementia is so important as it can really help improve their quality of life, by stimulating memories and connecting them to past events.
“This can help bring people with dementia together, encouraging them to interact and share memories and that’s exactly what we achieved,” she added.
The event was held as part of the annual celebration of song by the BBC which this year’s had the theme of music and wellbeing; the power of music to inspire, bring us together and make a positive impact.
BBC Music Day has collaborated with organisations involved with dementia care across the UK, to utilise their networks to help bring music to everyone living with dementia in the UK.
Dementia is the biggest killer in the UK. Someone develops it every three minutes and there is currently no cure. There are 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, and this number is expected to rise to over one million by 2025.
