This event featured the work of music therapist Jeffrey Wolfe, MT-BC, Program Administrator of the Musical Bridges to Memory Program™ and Director of Community Programs at Institute for Therapy through the Arts and Jeanne Kelly, MS, Artistic Director of Encore Creativity for Older Adults. We talked about the benefits and challenges of using participatory music-making to connect with and care for people with dementia.
A 30-minute Q&A followed the discussion, featuring:
- Mary Ann East, DMA, Director of Sentimental Journey Singers, a chorus for singers diagnosed with early to moderate memory impairments and their care partners.
- Jenni Rook, music therapist and Executive Director at the Institute for Therapy through the Arts and co-founder of the Musical Bridges to Memory Program™
- Amanda Ziemba, lead music therapist of the Musical Bridges to Memory Program™
Theresa Allison, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at UCSF, hosted a discussion on an article by Mariko Hara exploring the ways in which music can be used to expand dementia care networks on a social level. The journal club was moderated by Suzanne B Hanser, EdD, MT-BC, President of the International Association for Music & Medicine, and Chair Emerita and Professor of Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
