Music, Movement, and Community: Rekindling connection Amidst Early-Onset Dementia

Program sparks joy and connection amid early-onset dementia 

By: Ananya Chandhok 

Music is therapy. It is a way to let the notes of a nostalgic tune overpower everyday anxieties.

Universally, it connects us.

One program embodies the heart of this idea by reintroducing music into individuals with dementia’s lives: the Music, Movement, and Community (MMC) program through Lorenzo’s House, a non-profit organization empowering youth and families living with younger-onset dementia. The class, for both individuals with dementia and their families, creates an environment where people can listen, dance, and play music together, sparking more joy into their lives.

The program began nearly two years ago at the Old Town School of Folk Music through a collaboration between Diana Cose, founder of Lorenzo’s House, and Lenny Marsh, a music teacher at the school.

“A friend of mine was diagnosed with early-onset dementia,” Marsh said. “He happened to be one of the first people I met when I started working at the Old Town School.” Marsh found Lorenzo’s House and saw an opportunity to combine his life’s work with a way to reconnect with his friend.

After a successful first run, Lorenzo’s House wanted to expand the program to Chicago’s South Side. Last year, Lorenzo’s House and the Mesulam Center extended the program to a second location at Bright Star Church in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The expansion was made possible through Northwestern’s Racial Equity and Community Grant

Glennese Ray, partnership liaison at Lorenzo’s House, was inspired to help with the program’s expansion into Bronzeville. “The idea was to get families involved that are in the Black and Brown space…for those that are living with younger onset dementia,” Ray said. “Lorenzo was a Black man. He was definitely part of a Black person’s community. And Diana was trying to be thoughtful in the process of how we get folks under our umbrella. Why not help more people that look like her Lorenzo?”

Lenny Marsh leads a recent Music, Movement, and Community session.

Listening to music — and creating their own

The MMC group is made up of individuals whose long-term memories are affected, but Marsh’s programming is helping them dust off the cobwebs to what seemed like a lifetime ago. “It’s old school,” he said. “It’s music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and they really have a sense of remembering those tunes, and they enjoy going back and listening to those tunes, moving to them, and dancing with their partner or caregiver.”

Leaning on tunes from the past, attendees use their environment to conduct a symphony. “That could be your hands on buckets, or drumsticks on buckets, or even wooden spoons on pots and pans,” Ray said. “It’s creating music.”

Eventually, the music seeps into participants' lives, offering a safe space to let go of anxieties and explore life through rhythm and sound. “Music is good for the soul,” Ray said. “And to watch people who sometimes may not be mobile or might not have the words anymore with smiles on their faces, dancing and tapping their feet — it’s a warm and fuzzy feeling.”

Ray remembered one couple that would light up at every gathering, despite the hardships they faced as a caregiver and person with dementia. “She sings, and he gives her a beat,” Ray said. “Watching them makes me feel like I’m in the right place.”

Currently, the grant supports group meetings at Bright Star every first and third Wednesday of the month. “That core group really bonded and formed their own community and support system,” Marsh said. Attendees and their families have coordinated gatherings, such as meet-ups at the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Marsh has changed through this program, too. He found his connection to music rejuvenated after seeing the change music has brought in attendees’ lives. “I’ve really re-learned the importance of music,” he said. “The power of music is phenomenal…It just brings such joy to my participants’ faces.” 

Music. Movement, & Community is a free, in-person interactive experience where music and expression ignite joy. This is an inclusive and stimulating learning environment of personal connection and fun for families living with younger-onset dementia.  

Classes are held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month from 10:30am-12pm at Bright Star Church Sanctuary (735 E 44th Street, Chicago).

Learn more and register at lorenzoshouse.org/our-programs/healing-spaces.