Arts for Life
Arts for Life
Encore’s Arts for Life programs support people experiencing specific health challenges through communal arts-making experiences.
Participants, along with their care partners, sing familiar songs and participate in music and movement games in a warm group setting to encourage connection through the power of music.
Partner Spotlight: Insight Memory Care Center
Encore is committed to keeping Arts for Life programming tuition-free for all participants, care partners, and volunteers. This pledge is guided by the generous support of our sponsors and partners. We are pleased to partner with Insight Memory Care Center for our programs in Virginia.
Insight Memory Care Center is a nonprofit providing quality memory and cognitive care for families living with dementia. Insight reaches this goal through specialized day programs for individuals living with memory and cognitive impairments, support for care partners and families, and education and engagement opportunities for the wider community. A nonprofit organization serving Northern Virginia since 1984, Insight offers a spectrum of holistic care, with a vision of a community where those living with cognitive impairment can achieve the highest quality of life.
As families are also impacted, Insight offers support programs specifically for care partners to reduce stress, plan for the future, and build a network of support that provides practical solutions to caregiving challenges. Insight’s innovative education programs and virtual resources help care partners remain confident and effective in their roles and increase awareness and understanding of the disease in the community.
Arts for Life News and Information
Better Brain Health for Music Lovers – Insight Memory Care Center Feature
Music lovers rejoice - we know music is good for your brain health overall! Music can aid in focus...
Alzheimer’s Awareness Month – Interview with Director of Arts for Life Dr. Mary Ann East
September is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. This month, we endeavor to end the stigma surrounding...
Sentimental Journey Singers
Sentimental Journey Singers is a community chorus for people with early to mid-stage memory loss, their care partners and volunteer singers.
Utilizing the expressive power and proven health benefits of music-making, participants will stimulate voice/body/brain connections, harmonize with others in a joyous environment, and develop an artistic craft under the direction of professional teaching artists.
In a space where all are seen, heard, and integral, the Sentimental Journey singers are provided the opportunity to connect and give back to their community through performance.
Activities
The group also participates in therapeutic activities, such as movement and music games.
Rehearsals
Participants, with their care partners, learn vocal techniques and three-part harmony, while singing familiar songs and new pieces in a social group setting under the leadership of a professional conductor.
Concerts
Locations
Find a Sentimental Journey Singers program near you.
Virginia
North Carolina
Prefer Rehearsing Virtually?
All members registered for in-person singing are welcome to participate in our online-only rehearsal as well. You'll be led by a conductor on Zoom and learn the same music taught over 15 weeks in our in-person rehearsals.
Register
With the generous support of our sponsors, Arts for Life programs are tuition-free and include sheet music and a rehearsal CD highlighting the singer’s voice part. Participants should register with their care partners.
Melody Makers
Melody Makers is an interactive music-based program designed for people experiencing mid to moderate stage memory loss in partnership with members of the greater community.
Experienced teaching artists create a stimulating and joyous communal space where participants are guided to engage their voices, bodies, and spirits in arts-based activities.
Melody Makers provides an opportunity for participants to reconnect with memory, experience a sense of accomplishment, and live actively in the present moment through the scientifically proven powers of music.
Activities
Sessions include vocal exercises, singing of rounds and partner songs, movement activities, and opportunities for relationship-building.
Sessions
Ambassadors and Melody Makers engage in 45-60-minute sessions for 10-weeks.
Informance
At the end of 10-weeks, the group will share what they have learned with a participatory informance.
Locations
Find a Melody Makers program near you.
Maryland
Virginia
Register
With the generous support of our sponsors, Arts for Life programs are tuition-free and include sheet music and a rehearsal CD highlighting the singer’s voice part. Participants should register with their care partners.
Partner With Us
We are always searching for organizations, residential facilities, and senior support centers to partner with.
Please contact Dr. Mary Ann East, Arts and Aging Research Director, if you would like to participate in or support our programming.