“Music just seems to lighten things. You’re that busy singing and dancing you don’t think about anything else. You’re living for the now. It’s great.”

At the end of the concert I remarked to a staff member how sweet the couple were. She told me that they had been married for over 50 years and that the lady, who was living with dementia, was no longer able to speak. They were all delighted with how she engaged with the music and sang along.

The music brought back memories because I used to go to parks with my dad to watch brass bands. He used to play when he was in the army.

Marilyn had an accident which left her with brain damage and she has relatively low awareness and is often asleep. But when there’s good live music going on, she reacts to it. She is more awake and it makes a big difference to her wellbeing.

"That element of having live music performance was really uplifting, it was really engaging. It was so nice to see everybody smiling and joining in, and people who hadn't joined in the previous sessions, who were encouraged to come along for the live session, have now said that they are going to continue to come every week."