Each week, here at the Hughes Community Centre, gather a group of people, who unlike the façade of the centre (boring and unremarkable) are vibrant and inspirational. If you had come here before the recent Canberra lockdown, you would have heard, seen and felt the extraordinary atmosphere of their choir called Alchemy Chorus – a community dementia choir founded by Brian Triglone in 2016.
Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to hear the choir and it left me with a feeling of overwhelming joy and warmth. I was in awe of these people, and they were all really into the music, singing and friendly to say the least. I left the centre that day with the biggest smile on my face and whilst I had only just met some of the members – their singing, the atmosphere and their life stories moved me, and this feeling has stayed with me.
Some of the members of this choir and their partners whilst ordinary Canberra folk cope with the day-to-day stresses of dementia and being a part of this choir allows them to leave behind, if just for a little while, some of their troubles and immerse themselves in in this activity that brings a sense of belonging and togetherness, a community and happiness.
During my research for this story, I found the words of the late 19th century American psychologist William James to encapsulate the atmosphere I encountered “I don’t sing because I’m happy, I’m happy because I sing.”
On Wednesday 8th of September 2021, I had the opportunity to chat with Brian Triglone founder and conductor of Alchemy Chorus and Trish Cran, the publicity/gig manager for Alchemy Chorus. Brian has substantial experience organising and running church choirs for many years. Since 2016, Brian and Trish have worked tirelessly to build the profile and community of Alchemy Chorus to the success it is now.
Though before we get into Alchemy Chorus, let’s go over what a Dementia choir is and how it’s thought to help people with dementia.
A recent study from the University of Utah into the effects of how music and singing helps people with dementia shows that there is a correlation between music, singing and improvement in the memory of dementia patients.
It’s believed that this improvement comes from the enjoyment the activity brings, which can help activate certain parts of the brain in people with dementia.
“This study suggests that this transformation could be in part due to parts of the brain connecting better for a brief time after hearing music. Although further research is needed to help understand the longer-term effects of music.’ (Pickett, 2018)
As a result of scientific research over time, people have become aware of the importance of music as a form of therapy and Dementia Choirs have become very popular across the globe. Many Dementia Choirs are run through nursing homes, or other similar institutions. However, Alchemy Chorus is different, it’s not just therapy for people with dementia and It’s not institution based.
Alchemy Chorus is a community choir, it is entirely made up of people from the Canberra community; volunteers, people with dementia and their partners all come along to form Alchemy Chorus, it is an inclusive community.
Alchemy Chorus’s main aim is to first and foremost be a community choir, the choir members practise Thursday each week for 2 hours at the Hughes Community Centre and perform twice a year at various establishments across Canberra.
Brian was inspired to establish Alchemy Chorus after watching a YouTube video about a Dementia choir in Minneapolis.
“My sister-in-law sent me a YouTube… and this one happened to be about a choir in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Giving Voice… and I thought with my background in Community Choirs, I could probably do that”.
Brian used his previous experience and connections with community choirs to help kick start Alchemy Chorus.
“I asked some of those if they’d like to be volunteers in this new choir I was starting, and I very quickly had 15 or 20 who said they would like to be involved.”
In the beginning Alchemy Chorus was associated with Dementia Australia and through this organisation Brian worked to get Alchemy Chorus known in the public. Brian said, “wherever there was an opening, we were there”. The choir has currently grown greatly from its beginning, it now has 80-90 members attending regularly.
Trish Cran has been with Alchemy Chorus for a long time, her official title is the Publicity and Gig Manager, but she wears many hats with Alchemy Chorus doing whatever is needed of her at the time.
Alchemy Chorus aims to assist the lives of not only those with dementia but their carers, partners, and spouses too and their wellbeing is a very important factor for the choir.
Trish Said, “most of our people are living at home in the community as 70% of people with dementia do and that’s our setting.”
Brian believes that the people closest to the person with dementia is also on the dementia journey as well. Partners/carers also struggle on the rollercoaster that dementia brings. It’s a daily routine that is not often well understood by those who aren’t on the journey.
“We spend quite a bit of energy helping the carers themselves, we’re very aware of what they are going through” – Brian Triglone
I had the opportunity to talk with Marlene Roche, who along with her husband Paul have both recently become members of Alchemy Chorus. Marlene cares for her husband Paul, who has early onset Alzheimer’s.
Marlene said that initially the pair were a bit unsure about joining the Choir.
“We went to a concert in October 2019, and at that time my husband wasn’t really happy to go… he didn’t really want to be reminded of [his Alzheimer’s] at that stage”.
However, despite Paul’s reservations, in 2020 Marlene and Paul joined Alchemy Chorus and Marlene talked about how they had both come to greatly enjoy the time they spent at the choir.
“It’s been really helpful to have a regular thing that comes every week, and because we enjoy singing it’s also been a lovely thing to do together because we both enjoy it.” – Marlene Roche
Marlene also briefly touched the difficulties they have had finding activities for both of them.
“It’s taken many years to find things for him to do but also something for myself as well, so the choir was really nice because we could do it together.”
Because of the current lockdown the Roches have not been able to participate in their respective activities and have lost that regularity.
“For my husband it has been very difficult because he has been missing out on his activities and outings” – Marlene Roche
During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, Alchemy Chorus was unable to meet for quite a long time. This period was a worrying one for the Choir according to Brian and Trish because there was an uncertainty about how the Choir would pick up following the lockdown.
“We had 6 months of lockdown last year, and during that time we kept in touch with our members. That was important, to keep the contact going… so the community was kept going that way” – Trish Cran
Eventually, the choir was able to schedule its first meeting, which was held at the oval close to the hall usually attended. At that stage, people could gather outside but not inside. From this first reunion of the Choir, it quickly built back its steam, reaching numbers similar to pre-lockdown soon after returning to their community hall in Hughes.
Both Brian and Trish seemed confident that coming out of this most recent 2021 lockdown things would go similarly to last year, with Alchemy Chorus springing back to its usual numbers, minus meeting on an oval.
Community is a theme that is ever present in my chat with Brian, Trish and Marlene. Each spoke about how wonderful the Choir community was, and how electric and enjoyable the atmosphere of their meetings was.
Marlene specifically talked about how amazing it was to see people with dementia talk about their lives and share their memories.
“One of the things I’ve really enjoyed [is] when people stand up and talk about their lives, all these people, their backgrounds are really amazing… and to know you are that person still, even though this disease is ravaging your life.” – Marlene Roche
Despite the worries around the 2020 and 21 lockdowns and how the Choir would cope in a Covid environment, things are looking good for Alchemy Chorus. The Alchemy Chorus community is incredibly resilient and dedicated and they wait enthusiastically for a return.
Brian and Trish have worked hard to keep the community surrounding Alchemy Chorus thriving during the lockdowns, and with members as dedicated as the Roches, Alchemy Chorus has a bright future. It’s thanks to people like Brian Triglone and Trish Cran, their inventiveness, dedication and experience that Canberra has this wonderful Choir and that it has become a place that has made a very real difference to people’s lives and has brought them happiness and an experience to share.
Brian said from time to time he refers to the choir as “Glorious Ordinariness” and I think that these two words beautifully sum up what Alchemy Chorus is. If you ever have the opportunity, go and see Alchemy Chorus and I hope it leaves you in as good a mood as it did me.
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