Orpheus Chamber Orchestra And CaringKind Partner To Bring Music To People With Dementia And Their Caregivers

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with CaringKind to bring extraordinary musical experiences to people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia and their caregivers in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The pilot program, called "With Music in Mind," marks the first time CaringKind's connect2culture program - an initiative that helps cultural organizations develop programs for New York's Alzheimer's community - is bringing performing arts programming into the Bronx and Brooklyn. Formerly known as the Alzheimer's Association, New York City Chapter, CaringKind has been New York City's leading expert on Alzheimer's and dementia caregiving for more than 30 years.

"With Music in Mind," funded by a generous $30,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, comprises two important components: training and performance. Experts from CaringKind will provide in-depth "Understanding Dementia" training designed specifically for Orpheus staff and musicians. Staff and musicians will be sensitized to the special needs of this community and provided with the tools needed to orient people with dementia and their caregivers to the musical experience.

The initiative will culminate in May 2018 with two special 90-minute performance events - one at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale on May 8th, and another at the Brooklyn Museum (a connect2culture partner) on May 15th. "With Music in Mind" audiences will consist entirely of people with Alzheimer's or dementia and their caregivers. Each program will offer an intimate concert performed by Orpheus, followed by a conversation between the musicians and the audience, and concluding with a social tea.

A growing body of research offers evidence of the cognitive and social benefits that the performing arts can have on a person with dementia. Research has also shown that multi-sensory stimulation, activated by museum outings, concerts, and garden visits allows people with dementia to become more aware of their environment, reduce anxiety and agitation, and drastically enhance their moods.

Orpheus Artistic Director James Wilson said, "This new initiative with CaringKind expands our involvement with our New York City community, particularly individuals who might not have the opportunity to hear Orpheus in a regular concert setting. This really exemplifies Orpheus' mission of using music to empower people, and to bring all of us closer together for the better."

Lou-Ellen Barkan, President and CEO of CaringKind, said, "Alzheimer's is an isolating and lonely disease - not just for the person with dementia but for the caregiver as well. At CaringKind we create and deliver compassionate programs that keep our families connected to community. Now in partnership with Orpheus, we are ensuring that our clients in Brooklyn and the Bronx have access to one of the world's most extraordinary chamber orchestras and the power of music to enhance their quality of life."

"CaringKind is deeply indebted to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its extraordinary support of this new and innovative program," Barkan added.

CaringKind's connect2culture program partners include 9/11 Memorial & Museum; American Folk Art Museum; Arts & Minds; Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Brooklyn Museum; Brooklyn Public Library; Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum; The Jewish Museum; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Museum of Modern Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Queens Museum; Rhythm Break Cares; Rubin Museum of Art; and The Unforgettables Chorus.

Program Information
May 8, 2018 - Hebrew Home in Riverdale - 2:30-4:00pm
This program is only open to residents of the dementia care neighborhoods of Hebrew Home and their families. Pre-registration is required: Families can register or find more information by contacting CaringKind's 24-hour Helpline, 646-744-2900.

May 15, 2018 - Brooklyn Museum - 3:00-4:30pm
This program is open to all individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Pre-registration is required: Families can register or find more information by contacting CaringKind's 24-hour Helpline, 646-744-2900.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra creates extraordinary musical experiences that enrich lives and empower individuals through collaboration, innovation, education and a passion for artistic excellence. Orpheus strives to be the world's premier chamber orchestra by performing music at the highest level without a conductor, challenging artistic boundaries, inspiring the public to think and work with new perspectives, and building a broad and active audience in New York City and around the world.

Committed to innovation and artistic excellence, Orpheus was founded in 1972 by a group of like-minded young musicians determined to combine the intimacy and warmth of a chamber ensemble with the richness of an orchestra. Orpheus performs without a conductor, rotating musical leadership roles for each work, and striving to perform diverse repertoire through collaboration and open dialogue. The ensemble has commissioned and premiered more than 48 original works. Orpheus's recordings include the Grammy Award-winning Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures for Deutsche Grammophon, and over 70 other recordings for DG, Sony Classical, EMI Classics, BMG/RCA Red Seal, Decca, and others, including its own label, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Records.

Orpheus presents an annual concert series in New York City featuring performances at Carnegie Hall and the 92nd Street Y, as well as an intimate Twilight chamber series in the elegant instrument showroom at Tarisio Fine Instruments and Bows in midtown Manhattan. The orchestra also tours extensively to major national and international venues. The 2018-19 season features five new-to-Orpheus artists and Now Hear This!, a new initiative dedicated to reimagining musical gems of the past with new arrangements by top-notch composers. Beloved Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii opens the Carnegie Hall series with Chopin's Second Piano Concerto. In November, Orpheus welcomes vibrant mandolin & accordion duo Avi Avital and Ksenija Sidorova, who will treat audiences to a reinvention of their time-honored instruments in a novel rearrangement of Bach. Spanish pianist Javier Perianes joins Orpheus for Mozart's last Piano Concerto No. 27. Orpheus' American Notes initiative welcomes Golden Globe-, GRAMMY- and Emmy-nominated composer Benjamin Wallfisch and New York favorite James Matheson for two new works commissioned by Orpheus. British cellist Steven Isserlis opens the new 92Y series to explore the thrilling emotions of C.P.E. Bach's Concerto in A Major. The season ends with a flourish: Richard Strauss' rendering of a fabled trickster, played in a lively arrangement for chamber ensemble. Iranian harpsichord virtuoso Mahan Esfahani juggles tradition and disruption in a chamber symphony reworking of Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds (K. 452) by Jean Françaix.

Orpheus has trademarked its signature mode of operation, the Orpheus Process, an original method that places democracy at the center of artistic execution. It has been the focus of studies at Harvard University and of leadership seminars at IBM, Morgan Stanley, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, among others. Orpheus aims to bring this unique approach to students of all ages through its worldwide education and engagement programs: Access Orpheus-NYC, Orpheus Music Academy, Orpheus Leadership Institute, and With Music in Mind.

Access Orpheus-NYC shares the orchestra's collaborative music-making process with K-12 public school students from all five boroughs in New York City. While New York is among the cultural capitals of the world, many schoolchildren are underserved in arts participation. Access Orpheus-NYC helps to bridge this gap with in-class visits, invitations to working rehearsals, Instrument Discovery Days, public masterclasses, and free tickets for performances at Carnegie Hall.

The Orpheus Music Academy encompasses Orpheus' programs for intermediate and advanced music students. Orpheus musicians share their artistry, expertise, and collaborative approach to music-making through masterclasses with Orpheus musicians and guest artists, side-by-side workshops, and residencies on tour.

The Orpheus Leadership Institute brings the Orpheus Process to the private and nonprofit sectors and educational institutions to empower the leaders of tomorrow through collaborative management training. Teams of all kinds participate in customizable programs to gain insight from Orpheus' democratic process and develop essential skills in communication, collective ownership, and creative problem solving.

For more information about Orpheus please visit www.OrpheusNYC.org or call 212.896.1700.

CaringKind is New York City's leading expert on Alzheimer's and dementia caregiving. With over 30 years of experience, we work directly with our community partners to develop the information, tools and training to support individuals and families affected by dementia. We offer a 24-hour Helpline run by professional staff, individual and family counseling sessions with licensed social workers; a vast network of support groups; education seminars and training programs; early stage services and a wanderer's safety program. We believe in the power of caregiving and seek a world where everyone dealing with dementia has the support they need, when they need it. CaringKind was formerly known as the Alzheimer's Association, New York City Chapter.