Music Therapy Brings Hope to Dementia Patients at Amsterdam Concert Hall

A unique singing program at Amsterdam's famous Concertgebouw concert hall is helping people with dementia and other neurological conditions connect through music. The sessions, led by opera singer Maartje de Lint, create emotional moments for participants and their families while potentially providing brain benefits.

AMSTERDAM — Megan Worthy fondly remembers her childhood days performing with a choir in Canberra, Australia.

Today, at 58 years old, Worthy faces a devastating battle as an uncommon type of early-onset dementia gradually deteriorates her eyesight and other cognitive abilities. Yet when she joins her daughter Bronte in a special musical program at Amsterdam’s renowned Concertgebouw concert hall, those cherished memories of her youth come flooding back.

“It’s pretty brutal,” Worthy said of her rare neurological condition. “I’m starting to lose everything, you know, and this is really rewarding and seeing all these people, yeah, it did make me have a lot of memories.”

Worthy participates in what organizers call a “singing circle” — a therapeutic program led by opera performer Maartje de Lint at the prestigious venue. The sessions welcome elderly individuals with what de Lint describes as “vulnerable brains,” including those battling various forms of dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Dementia affects millions worldwide, causing gradual deterioration of memory, thinking abilities, language skills and other mental functions. The condition can alter personality traits, emotional regulation and even how people perceive their surroundings. While Alzheimer’s disease remains the most familiar type, numerous other forms exist with distinct symptoms and causes. Vascular dementia, for instance, develops when small strokes reduce blood circulation to brain tissue.

Participants in the Amsterdam program, who each contribute 20 euros ($23.50) per session, gather with their caregivers in a circular seating arrangement beneath 14 sparkling crystal chandeliers in the venue’s elaborate Mirror Hall.

“We always say, music is like vitamins,” said Selien Kneppers, 78, who once managed a Dutch boogie woogie and blues band and now regularly attends the singing circle.

De Lint moves dynamically throughout the center of the group, frequently kneeling beside participants and extending her hands to create personal connections. She and fellow performers from her organization travel extensively across the Netherlands and Europe conducting similar musical workshops.

According to de Lint, singing serves as a method for maintaining brain function while strengthening bonds between family members and their affected loved ones.

“So we give people perspective,” she says before one of her singing sessions in Amsterdam. “It’s like actually a training for the brain, for the body, to get more resilient and understand the perspective that you still have.”

The 60-minute sessions create profound emotional responses among participants and caregivers alike. Volunteers frequently distribute tissues as tears flow freely. During one touching moment, a man gently caressed the cheek of the woman beside him while the group performed classics including Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender,” Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Amazing Grace.”

Neurobiologist Brankele Frank, who operates independently from de Lint’s initiative, supports the idea that singing provides meaningful benefits for individuals with dementia, Alzheimer’s and other brain degenerative conditions.

Music “speaks to brain areas that haven’t really been degenerated yet,” she told The Associated Press. “So, for example, their verbal skills often are compromised, but music speaks to parts of the brain that don’t necessarily need verbal skills. And so it taps into their emotion, their sense of self, their identity.”

Researchers continue investigating music’s therapeutic potential for people suffering from dementia, brain trauma, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Musical experiences activate numerous brain regions simultaneously, reinforcing neural pathways that control language, memory, emotions and physical movement.

Bronte Henfling, Megan’s daughter, expressed appreciation for bringing her mother to an uplifting environment that wasn’t focused on medical discussions about her posterior cortical atrophy diagnosis.

“Just hearing everyone come together and sing … it reminds us that we’re all human and there’s a humanity out there which is really pleasing and nice to be a part of,” she said.