LIAD choral concert brings light of holidays to those with cognitive conditions

Sneakered toes on the sustain pedal, music therapist Pat Kaiser played holiday music on a piano in bouncy mezzo staccato.

Her left heel tapping metronomically, Kaiser conducted a chorus of about two dozen singers — many of whom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dementia or other conditions that affect cognitive function. The Saturday concert, held at Bethpage Senior Community Center, was the culmination of a 10-week program run by Westbury-based Long Island Alzheimer's and Dementia Center.

"You feel people might be locked up inside a little bit," Kaiser said of working with those diagnosed with dementia. "I just wanted to offer something that would kind of pull them out."

The group, called The Sharp Notes, included LIAD participants ages 70 through 96, as well as aides, caregivers and volunteers. Musical selections, rehearsed for two hours each Saturday, celebrated Christmas and Hanukkah.

The choral program began in 2019, but was halted by the pandemic, said Gia Mannone, the director of day program services for LIAD. The program returned this spring, making Saturday's show the second since its inception.

"This was made to be something that the caregivers can do with their loved ones," Mannone said. "Something that they could do together, spend meaningful time with one another, doing something that they love, or something new."

Music is also an avenue professionals and caregivers can travel to redirect their loved ones during challenging moments, Mannone said.

"Yes, throughout this process they are progressing, and pieces of them are fading, and things are changing," Mannone said. "But they're still in there. They still will react to certain stories, certain names, certain photos, certain music."

She added: "There is still that light in there that we can bring out."

Jean Brophy, 72, of Floral Park, said she had been singing since the age of 4. She was a music director at her church once, and played guitar. On Saturday, she and her daughter, Mary, 27, sang side by side.

"Going here and singing is one of the greatest things," Jean Brophy said. "When you get to be my age, there's no more choruses at school." 

Soloist Harold Koppel, 89, remembers singing with his late brother before bed in childhood. In high school, he sang in the chorus. He went on to serve in the Army and work as a train operator.

"I really enjoy singing," said Harold, who joined the chorus with his wife, Judy, 85, and sang "Hevenu Shalom Alechem" in a smooth bellow.

Koppel has not been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia, but experienced a medical episode that affected his brain, Judy said.

"If someone walked into this room, they're not going to know that our chorus has a diagnosis," said Mannone, who describes Alzheimer's and dementia as "invisible until it's not."

Though many associate the conditions predominantly with memory loss, the disease affects behavior, judgment, perception and mobility as it progresses.

"Until it shows its head, and you have to face it for what it's turned into, it's purely invisible," Mannone said.

But LIAD and its executive director, Tori Cohen, challenge the notion that a diagnosis means "life is over."

"Music is a huge part of people's lives in general," Cohen said. "With people with Alzheimer's and dementia, that's one of the things that they hold onto the longest."