National Virtual Choir

We decided to form our National Virtual Choir to extend our reach so all people living with dementia and their loved ones have access to live, engaging musical therapy in a time when in-person access to such resources is limited.
Our aim is to provide an enriching activity for people living with dementia wherever they live in the country, at home or in a Nursing Home as well as acknowledging the families’ wishes to engage with their loved ones when in person visits may not be feasible. As such, the virtual choir environment created will provide a place for people living with dementia and their families to join together in song and to share the experience with each other.
Participants can sing along, move to the music, shake an instrument or simply sit back and enjoy depending on their wishes and needs.
We know the wonderful power of music to help with cognitive function and reminiscence in older persons as well as those living with dementia, and our playlist will be chosen with advice from dementia specialists.

What We Provide:

• Easy to access, weekly online sessions lasting one hour, led by our musical director, and facilitated by specialist staff trained in dementia care.
  • Personal engagement from the ASI with you and  Activity Co-Ordinators with song booklets  provided by e-mail.
  • A shareable link to the choirso that family members at home can join in the fun and see their loved ones singing with us.Our Musical Director:

The National Virtual Choir will be lead by musical director Aisling Gaudet.
Aisling is a native of Mullingar. She hails from a musical family – her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews were and are heavily involved in music, in both an amateur and professional level. She started learning piano from her mother at 7 years of age, studied music at school and went on to graduate with a BA in Music and English from UCD. She subsequently qualified and taught keyboards as a Yamaha Music Instructor and she is now a private piano teacher and choir leader.

For many years, Aisling was a member of both the local amateur musical and drama societies. Her dramatic highlight was being the first amateur in Ireland to perform the one-act play Shirley Valentine! In the mid 90’s she spent some time touring and singing as a backing vocalist, with the great Joe Dolan. Following a hiatus for a few years (life/marriage/motherhood got in the way!), Aisling joined the Mullingar Charity Variety Group as a member of their adult choir. She later went on to become and currently is the choir’s director.
In 2016, Aisling fulfilled a long held ambition to start her own community choir, Song Club, which performs locally and raises funds for charity. In recent years she was part of the HSE’s pilot workplace choir for mental health project, forming and leading the Heart and Soul Choir, in performances including University of Limerick and AIT. She also spent some time conducting the HSE Voices Connect choir for mental health service users.  Most recently, Aisling has been enjoying working with the Longford/Westmeath HSE Sweet Memories virtual choir.

To register for the choir, email  [email protected]