Sing! Together Singing Groups for Dementia – Blog Post #23
Published on Tuesday 10th June 2025 by guest contributor Kathryn Hayes (Founder, All In Sound)
“I founded All In Sound in July 2018. For many years I had worked with professional orchestras and arts organisations on their community programmes all over the country – taking artists into different setting such as care homes, prisons, special schools. My desire was to set up a charity to do the same near where I lived. Part of my work was managing the ‘Music For Life’ programme for Wigmore Hall which focusses on people living with dementia, and I had also worked in many care homes prior to this – so I had a depth of experience working creatively with people living with dementia and those who care for them.
I had set up some choirs in the local community in Cambridgeshire back in 2011, just as the research about the benefits of singing for dementia was beginning to emerge. I was getting phone calls asking if people living with dementia could join my choirs, but I wanted to create groups specifically catering to their needs, and to make it safe, and to do it under the banner of a charity – so All In Sound was created.
Sing! Together – the name for our programme of singing groups for people living with dementia and their carers – started in Ely in April 2018. This group continues to thrive, and we now also have a group in Soham, which started in March 2024. They are just for those living with dementia or memory loss and their carers. We don’t ask for any previous experience, everyone is welcome, and there is no expectation in terms of commitment or attendance – you come when you can and are always welcome!
Securing funding means we can make the groups accessible to as many people as possible, as we wouldn’t want anyone not to attend for financial reasons, although donations are welcomed.
When you arrive at the group there is always a warm welcome (usually from me) – and then our team of volunteers will make everyone a hot drink and a biscuit. There is time for conversation and a catch-up, and then we sing. Everyone takes part in the way that works best for them, with no rush, plus lots of smiles and laughter. Some of the songs are well known, and some we all learn together, with an action or two, and a shaker to shake along if you wish!
One of our longest attending participants had this to say:
“Getting my diagnosis of Alzheimer’s was very depressing especially as friends did not understand what I was going through and I became somewhat isolated. My wife and carer heard from a friend about All In Sound – Sing! Together and took me to one of the singing sessions. At first, I was extremely reluctant to go, thinking that I could not sing. However, once there it was so much fun and didn’t matter that I had no formal singing experience. Even with my memory loss the little ditties we sang were easy to memorise, especially with the actions which were hilarious to join in with. I quickly found that although I could not remember what I had for breakfast that day I could remember the words of popular songs we sang. Everyone was friendly and it was good for my wife and I to be able to mix with people who were going through the same difficulties we were. I quickly made new friends, and it is the highlight of my week to go singing on a Monday. When we wife started to need a break she arranged for my paid carer, who comes in four hours a week, to take me singing. It was a new experience for her too and she quickly established herself as part of the group and also enjoyed the new experience of singing together, which she had never thought of doing before. The highlight was singing in the Christmas Concerts and the Pet Service at Ely Cathedral, where my wife and friends of mine were able to come and see what a person with Alzheimer’s could still achieve. The whole experience of singing with this group has made me feel a part of a community again and that I can still do something worthwhile; that life does not end with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.”
New members are always welcome to All In Sound Sing! Together groups, in both Ely and Soham- find out more with details of how to join on this link.
How Are You Cambridgeshire & Peterborough district websites contain information about local groups, activities and services for people living with memory loss and their carers/loved ones. Take a look: How Are You Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | Memory Loss & Dementia
