How music is medicine for these Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones

By Laura Oliverio and Emmalee Reed, CNN

Published November 29, 2024

Soft light filters in through the stained glass of St. Michael’s Church on New York’s Upper West Side. Massive organ pipes stretch up to the ceiling, standing sentinel as people filter into the space.

The choir members arrive in pairs, mostly older people shuffled along by younger caregivers, and pick up name tags before finding their seats at the front of the room. The directors greet everyone with smiles and songbooks. They gather their attention and the group begins to sing — quietly at first, then with growing confidence.

Everyone sings the same part. The members focus on participation and getting the words down. They share laughs and sway to the music they make.

This is the Unforgettables Chorus, which was founded in 2011 for people with dementia and their caregivers. The chorus rehearses weekly and puts on two concerts a year. They sing mostly oldies — songs that would be familiar to the members. At the beginning of each rehearsal, the group sings “Unforgettable,” which was written by Irving Gordon and popularly recorded by Nat King Cole.

The Unforgettables Chorus in New York was founded by Dr. Mary Mittelman at NYU Langone Health.

Members of the chorus rehearse in St. Michael’s Church.

“I tried to build the chorus so that people would come in and really feel like they could be themselves,” said Tania Papayannopoulou, the chorus’ music director and conductor. “That they could have a better day and a better week because they could carry the music with them.”

Active engagement in music — such as singing, moving, clapping or snapping — activates healthy neurons and promotes a euphoric feeling, Papayannopoulou said. When patients are in a good mood, they are better able to connect with loved ones and share happy moments.

Long-term memory of music remains intact until the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, according to Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour, a neurologist at Northwestern Medicine. A study by researchers at University of Utah Health showed that music, especially that which holds personal meaning, can activate the brain even after other pathways are damaged. Listening to this kind of music also helped to improve the brain’s adaptability in patients with early Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto.

Participating in the choir has empowered its members, Papayannopoulou said.

“Music allows them to really reconnect with who they are and what they’re capable of,” she said.

Music breaks through

Bridget Elias

Upstairs in a historic townhome on a leafy street in Brooklyn, Bridget Elias and her caregiver, Lizette Delacruz, listen to music. They have just returned from a walk in a park and are taking a break before heading out again. Downstairs, Elias’ husband, Townsend Davis, reviews plans to renovate the house and make it more accessible for his wife.

The pair first met at a party in 1994 and married eight years later. Davis, a lawyer, and Elias, a former chief financial officer at the Whitney Museum of American Art, have two children together.

In 2016, Davis noticed Elias, who was normally detail-oriented, forgetting small things. After months of discussion and testing, Elias was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. It was a shock to the family. She was 52.

Elias and Davis got married in 2002, eight years after they met.

The family did a lot of traveling in those first years after the diagnosis. They went to Greece, Italy, Costa Rica and the Czech Republic.

“We just took some of those dreams and tried to live them earlier,” Davis said.

Elias, who took pride in her independence, was reluctant to accept help. When she eventually began to seek support, she and Davis became involved with the Unforgettables Chorus.

“It was her favorite thing right through until Covid,” Davis said. The chorus met remotely during the pandemic. “She’s not able to articulate what her favorite thing is now, but I think she still enjoys it.”

Davis says Elias loves the bands Jefferson Airplane and The Velvet Underground.

Elias sings in the Unforgettables Chorus with lifelong friend Debby Waldman, who was visiting from Canada.

Davis has since brought more music into the home. Multiple speakers are ready to play the “Official Bridget Playlist” at any moment.

When she hears a song, Elias instantly becomes more animated. She sings and dances with Davis, grasping his hands as they move to the tune.

“She’ll sometimes seem upset or agitated but will accept help and accept comforting,” Davis said. “I think music is the thing that gets through to her the most.”

Elias dances with Davis in her bedroom while listening to a playlist of her favorite songs.

Lasting melodies

David Damstra

Evelyn Damstra looks at an old photo of her two children at home in New York. Her husband, David, has Alzheimer’s.

David Damstra’s voice deepens the sound of the chorus and soars during solos. He has been a musician his whole life: an opera singer and active participant in church choruses.

He joined the Unforgettables Chorus around seven years ago, when he was first diagnosed with a mild cognitive impairment. He is now 87 and has Alzheimer’s.

“This was really up his alley,” his wife, Evelyn, said. “I couldn’t sing a thing, but I joined with him.”

David and Evelyn clink their coffee mugs after having breakfast at home.

Her favorite moments are when her husband sings solo.

The pair met in 1962 in New York, when David was taking singing lessons and training to become an opera singer. They have lived in the city ever since; they have two children and three grandchildren.

It was hard to find a caregiver that was a good fit, Evelyn said, but they’ve been very lucky with Pepe Hernandez, who has been working with the family for three years now. The trio often goes out, to eat, to the opera or the theater.

Evelyn puts on lipstick while getting ready for the day.

“We try and lead a normal life,” Evelyn said. “I just don’t want to give anything up.”

Music remains one constant. The radio is on from the minute the couple wakes up until the minute they go to bed. David often breaks out into song at home, picking up a melody from the Unforgettables or his opera years. Evelyn even took up the ukulele and has performed with the chorus.

“It’s releasing,” David said about singing. “You’re letting stuff go. It’s wonderful.”

Evelyn relaxes under a tree in a community rooftop garden. She says that while she loves David very much, it can be exhausting to constantly care for him. Most days she tries to stop by the garden to unwind and catch up with friends.

Adjusting to a new normal

Helen Ying

Musicians play scenes from Chinese operas “The Peony Pavilion” and “Pearl Tower” at the Queens Botanical Garden in New York.

Helen Ying’s favorite singer is Teresa Teng.

From her home an hour away, Ying’s daughter, Linda Tang, plays the Taiwanese pop artist’s songs through her speaker. The music soothes her mom.

“If she’s more calm, she’s more receptive to me taking care of her,” Tang said.

The little wins are important. Tang says they allow her and her mother to appreciate each other’s company.

Helen Ying, second from left, grabs an orchid from the windowsill while attending With Music in Mind at the Queens Botanical Garden. The garden gave the plants out for free to each person who joined the event.

Ying has not been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but her mild cognitive impairment is fairly new to her and her daughter. Tang started noticing changes in her mom’s mood earlier this year. She was forgetful, more agitated and wouldn’t be able to speak at times.

Tang has since been seeking help. Knowing her mother is more relaxed with music, Tang first brought her to With Music in Mind — a Mandarin-language music program — in August. The monthly program is put on by CaringKind, an organization that provides resources for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Ginger Kokoszka, a music therapist, leads the sessions inside the Queens Botanical Garden. She guides attendees in song, providing an opportunity for people to come together and connect with their culture.

Music therapist Ginger Kokoszka performs at the Queens Botanical Garden.

Kokoszka brings a variety of instruments to each session of With Music in Mind.

Ying, center, attends the event with her daughter, Linda Tang.

It’s trial and error, Tang said, to find something that works. At a performance in September, Ying was energized. She moved her hands and sang along with the music.

“I am so grateful for CaringKind and this organization because this is all new to me,” Tang said. “I might survive this.”

Supporting her mother is important to her. She says that filial piety — showing love and respect for one’s parents and elders — is important in Chinese culture. Both only children, Ying and Tang just have each other to lean on.

“When I see her calm, I think ‘Grandma would be proud of me,’ ” Tang said. “My grandma would want this, her daughter and granddaughter getting along.”

Tang says she was mainly raised by her grandmother. She’s grown closer to her mother this year.

Keeping memories alive

Eric Coleman and Judy Thoms

Judy Thoms and Eric Coleman sing the duet “We're a Couple of Swells." The song was originally performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in the 1948 film “Easter Parade.”

Music is a great connector for Eric Coleman and Judy Thoms. They both lost loved ones to Alzheimer’s.

Coleman has been involved in the Unforgettables Chorus since its inception. He enrolled his friend Lola Owens in the chorus a few years later after realizing it would be a good fit.

"When she heard a tune that she remembered, or was somehow stuck somewhere in her mind, she would come alive singing it,” Coleman said. “I knew how important this chorus was in helping her to connect and reconnect.”

Coleman says he’s learned from watching his friend and others navigate Alzheimer’s. “If they can deal with all that, let be me patient and help them through it,” he said. “That has helped me as a person.”

An empty chair is seen while Coleman and Thoms watch a musician perform in New York’s Bryant Park. The pair met at the chorus and often go out to the theater or to listen to music together.

Owens was a teacher at an elementary school in Harlem. After her diagnosis, she continued to visit her classes weekly to read to them before losing the ability to do so. Music, Coleman said, lasted.

Thoms joined the chorus in 2018 with her husband, John. He was a literature professor and had always loved music. He sang show tunes at home and performed lullabies for their children when they were small.

“Finding the chorus was a godsend,” Thoms said.

Coleman and Thoms sing at a rehearsal while co-director Dale Lamb conducts the group.

Going to the chorus every week was an important part of their routine. There, John could be his true self, Thoms said, singing loudly.

“There are different ways in which this disease affects people,” Coleman said. “If you can find something that really registers with them — music, literature, whatever it is — it can make a whole difference.”

“It’s gold,” Thoms added.

Thoms reacts while looking at family photos that line the walls of her New York apartment.

Thoms and Coleman continue to participate in the chorus after the passing of their loved ones. The chorus fosters connection with others going through the same thing; having experienced it and lost people, the pair is able to offer support and advice to those who need it.

The music also helps Thoms and Coleman keep the memories of John and Lola alive.

“You never forget the people that meant a lot to you,” Coleman said. “Being in the chorus and sharing something, continuing to do something I did with Lola, it helps remind me of her and think of her in the best ways.

“I wouldn’t call it grief, but it’s a fond memory that you want to grasp and hold on to while you have it.”

Empty pews are seen in the church where the Unforgettables Chorus performs.

A life of song

Boyd Lowry

“There’s good reason for singing,” said Boyd Lowry, who’s been doing it his whole life.

Lowry was raised in a musical family that sang hymns together every night. He was active in glee clubs, choirs and church choruses wherever he lived. Coming home from work, Paul Anka’s “I Love Life” was the tune he’d sing. It remains one of his favorite songs.

One of Boyd Lowry’s daughters bought this one-touch music player for him and his wife because they found it difficult to work their old CD player.

Mary Lowry organizes puzzle pieces by colors. She says she likes to keep her brain sharp by drawing, working on puzzles and listening to music.

When Lowry was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about a decade ago, his family began focusing on keeping him mentally stimulated. He is active in the Unforgettables Chorus and participates in other arts programs intended to spark the brain.

Lowry met his wife, Mary, in her hometown of Vesta, Minnesota. He was in seminary school at the time. She was visiting home and happened to pop into a church event he was attending. They married in 1958, about six months after meeting.

Mary looks through old family photos at home in New York.

“Almost immediately, we knew we were right for each other,” Mary said.

They often sing Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” together. It is another favorite of Boyd’s.

“They just lighten up,” their son, also named Boyd, said. “He holds her hand. There’s the touch, the feel, the music. All of a sudden he’s a child, singing.”