More Than a Song: Building the Evidence for Dementia-Friendly Choirs

There is a moment that happens regularly inside a Giving Voice choir rehearsal. Someone who may have spent much of the week being reminded of what they can no longer do is given a different experience. As a familiar melody begins, that person isn't primarily a patient or a person with dementia. They are a singer, like everyone else, and they are part of something special.

For more than a decade, Giving Voice Initiative has seen the power of these moments. In dementia-friendly choruses, people living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia sing alongside care partners, volunteers, and community members. They rehearse, perform, laugh, make friends, and work toward something together. Learn more about our rehearsals here.

Pairing Experience With Evidence

Giving Voice Initiative and Florida Atlantic University neuroscientist Dr. Patricia Izbicki are partnering on the Giving Voice Rural Initiative Pilot Research Project, supported through a Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Award.

The study is examining the impact of community-based choral singing on people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their care partners, including areas such as cognitive function, emotional well-being, and social connection. Participants complete assessments before and after the choir season, allowing researchers to explore potential changes in cognition, emotional well-being, quality of life, social connection, and caregiver experiences. By including both people living with dementia and care partners, the study recognizes that dementia affects relationships, families, communities—not only individuals.

“This project brings neuroscience and community experience together,” said Dr. Patricia Izbicki. “We are studying outcomes that matter in daily life—connection, well-being, quality of life, and the experiences of care partners—while learning what it takes to make these programs accessible and sustainable in rural communities.”

For Giving Voice, the research represents an important next chapter.

Dementia-friendly choirs have grown largely because people experience them and see their value. A spouse watches a partner come alive during a favorite song. A volunteer stops seeing dementia first and starts seeing the person singing beside them.

Those stories are powerful. But pairing those experiences with research can help build greater understanding and credibility for the entire movement.

Evidence can help healthcare professionals understand the potential of community-based arts programs. It can help funders recognize creative engagement as an investment in health and well-being. And it can help communities make a stronger case for programs that address isolation, purpose, and belonging.

Bringing the Movement to More Communities

The research is also connected to Giving Voice's growing Rural Initiative, which helps communities develop locally led dementia-friendly choruses of their own.

Rather than arriving in a community and operating a program, Giving Voice provides training, tools, technical assistance, and connection. Local musicians, aging organizations, volunteers, people living with dementia, and care partners create something that belongs to their community.

The result is more than another dementia program. It is a place to belong.

References

Dementia Friendly America. (n.d.). Dementia-friendly choirs. https://dfamerica.org/about-giving-voice/

Giving Voice Initiative. (n.d.). Giving Voice Rural Initiative. Retrieved August 16, 2026, from https://www.givingvoicechorus.org/rural-initiative

Greene, B., Ostroushko, M., & Melius, J. (2022). Finding joy and purpose through singing: Giving voice to people living with dementia. Creative Nursing, 28(4), 274–278. https://doi.org/10.1891/CN-2022-0048

Izbicki, P. (2019, November 15). How music can help people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. International Arts + Mind Lab. https://www.artsandmindlab.org/how-music-can-help-people-with-alzheimers-and-dementia/

Kane, M. (2025, June 17). They sing to remember: The power of memory choirs. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/memory-choir-auditory-dementia

NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative. (2025). Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards—2025 award recipients. https://neuroartsblueprint.org/neuroarts-investigator-awards/applied-award-winners-2025/

Learn More

Giving Voice Initiative welcomes conversations with journalists, researchers, healthcare and aging professionals, funders, community organizations, and people interested in bringing a dementia-friendly chorus to their community.

Learn more about the research or express interest in participating at givingvoicechorus.org/research.