Drake Music Scotland has received an award of £2500 from PRS for Music Foundation to commission composer Niroshini Thambar to create Hidden Voices – a new multi-media installation in collaboration with older people living with dementia in West Lothian. An experienced composer, musician and project leader, Niroshini will work with conventional musical instruments and also music technology – including Soundbeams and Skoogs – to enable people to explore, record and perform music with the smallest of movements or gestures.
The power of melody, harmony and particularly song lies in its ability to unlock or ‘re-find’ the voice of individuals who are isolated and withdrawn as a result of their dementia. There is increasing evidence that the ability to sing remains when speech is lost, that songs can still be recalled when many other memories are fading. The resulting animation and connectedness displayed by the individual often leads to exciting creative music sessions. Niroshini Thambar will capture these images and moments as recorded audio, including samples of voices, working with photographer Anne Binckebanck to collect images, then curate them into a multi-media installation with interactive elements such as triggering sounds on the Soundbeams, allowing the audience to become involved themselves.
Drake Music Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of PRS for Music Foundation