Manchester Camerata Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia
Live well with dementia through music
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Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia
Manchester Camerata, the UK’s most relentlessly pioneering orchestra, is proud to host the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia.
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WHO WE ARE
Powered by Manchester Camerata, the Music in Mind programme supports people living with dementia and their carers as part of the UK's first Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia.
Join a Music Session
Led by Manchester Camerata professional musicians, music therapists and our own Music Champions, Music in Mind Music Cafés provide ‘in the moment’ person-centred care for people living with dementia. They bring moments of joy, connection, true expression and help enhance the wellbeing of all who attend.
What is a Music Champion?
Music Champions is a programme to help people live well with dementia using the therapeutic benefits of music. Through a mixture of face-to-face and online training, Music Champions will learn and develop the skills to run their own music sessions in care homes, community groups, supported living, day centres or as part of one-on-one care.
Making a Difference
The work we deliver is about more than just helping those with dementia; it’s about supporting the entire ecosystem of dementia. care, from health and care professionals to families and friends.
Music plays a massive part in our residents' lives. It helps unlock emotions and memories. It's a way of communicating and building and stimulating social interaction.
Alison Corley
Millfield Care Home
See Their Story
We also want to extend support to carers as well...from the feedback that we had, Music in Mind would provide a really good service and would fit in and compliment the other services that we have.
Cliff Wilson
Commissioning Manager, Oldham
See Their Story
Anybody can be a Music Champion, it could be a family member, it could be a carer, it could be a volunteer. Anyone who wants to support people living with dementia.
Giles Wilmore
Music in Mind
See Their Story
Music plays a massive part in our residents' lives. It helps unlock emotions and memories. It's a way of communicating and building and stimulating social interaction.
Alison Corley
Millfield Care Home
See Their Story
We also want to extend support to carers as well...from the feedback that we had, Music in Mind would provide a really good service and would fit in and compliment the other services that we have.
Cliff Wilson
Commissioning Manager, Oldham
See Their Story
Anybody can be a Music Champion, it could be a family member, it could be a carer, it could be a volunteer. Anyone who wants to support people living with dementia.
Giles Wilmore
Music in Mind
See Their Story
Seamlessly embedding music in everyday dementia care.
We train and support Music Champions to deliver their own music sessions for those in their care. Whether in a care home, community group, supported living, day centre or as part of one-on-one care, Music in Mind is designed to fit all environments and stages of dementia.
Professional musicians and music therapists will build their confidence of through a combination of face-to-face and online training, so they feel comfortable using music to generate connections and strengthen relationships.
Effectively raising the quality of care using limited resources.
Growing pressure faces the health and care sectors to use limited resources more effectively. Music in Mind is designed to be inclusive and flexible, with an online portal to contain resources and training materials in one easily accessible place.
Meaningful opportunities for training and development have been shown to improve staff wellbeing and lower staff turnover, and with the cost of dementia care in the UK expected to rise sharply in the next two decades, finding these opportunities is more important than ever.
The vital role of the arts in supporting our wellbeing.
Studies have shown that the arts play a big role in supporting wellbeing, and music can be hugely valuable in the lives of people with dementia. This can take many forms, from listening to music to actively creating it through singing or instruments.
Music in Mind has been developed by Manchester Camerata since 2012 and is heavily informed by scientific research and evidence from some of the UK’s leading researchers and dementia experts. Our programme is designed to ensure the therapeutic powers of music can help as many people as possible to live well with dementia.
Music in Mind
Our Partners
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do I have to be a professional carer to become a Music Champion?
No. The Music Champions programme is designed to support anyone who has caring responsibilities for people living with dementia, so you could be a carer working in a care home, or a family carer or volunteer supporting people with dementia in the community.
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Where does the training take place?
You will be supported through face-to-face music sessions from our music therapists and musicians in your care home or community group, as well as receiving online support with other Music Champions so we can share our experiences and learn from each other.
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3.
What happens if I can’t make one of the training and support sessions?
We will ask you to take part in as many of your scheduled face-to-face and online sessions as you can, but appreciate that you may need flexibility due to your job or other commitments. Our online training sessions are also recorded so you can watch them at a later date.
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4.
I have no musical talent, does that matter?
You do not need to have any previous musical training or experience to become a Music Champion. You will learn how to use handheld percussion instruments and music tracks so you can find new ways to help people with dementia to take part in music sessions.
Newsletter
Stay Connected with Music in Mind
If you’d like to keep up to date with the latest from Music in Mind, use the link below to join our mailing list. Keep an eye on your inbox for news, events, important updates and inspiring stories from our Music Champions and the people with dementia and family carers who they support.
