A pioneering musician has given a powerful demonstration of how singing can cut through the fog of dementia.
Nia Davies Williams, the musician in residence at the Pendine Park care organisation who has just published a new book on the subject, led the dementia workshop at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham, along with well-known Welsh actor and singer Emyr Gibson.
The session was attended by members of the public and residents from Pendine’s Hillbury and Gwen Alyn care homes in Wrexham,
Nia and Emyr, who are based at Pendine’s Bryn Seiont Newydd home in Caernarfon, performed a number of traditional Welsh songs and chatted to the audience at the workshop.
The Cân i Godi Calon (Song to Lift the Spirits) singalong was held in the Encore tent on the Eisteddfod’s Maes..
Pendine Park is among the event’s 2025 sponsors, having supported the delivery of the workshop, through its Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT).
The trust was established by Pendine Park’s art-loving owners Mario and Gill Kreft to get behind arts groups across the local community.
Pendine Park’s consultant artist in residence, Sarah Edwards, said: “It was an amazing opportunity to further the message of how arts and music have so much therapeutic value in the lives of people going through a variety of health issues. At Pendine Park it is often referred to as the golden thread which runs through everything we do.
“We were thrilled to be able to bring along some of our residents from Hillbury and Gwern Alyn care homes in Wrexham to enjoy the workshop and get a chance to visit the Eisteddfod which is such a major event in the city’s calendar this year.
“It is so good for them to be here at the centre of such a historical event in our community.”
Among the Pendine residents was Peter Cotton, 91, a keen musician himself who played tenor saxophone in a band for many years.
He said: “I have been to the National Eisteddfod many times over the years, it’s always good to be back. It is one of the largest cultural festivals in Europe and I’m proud to see it has returned to Wrexham.”
Fellow residents Josephine Price and Irene Bishop enjoyed clapping along to the music and tapping their feet to the beat. Both said they welcomed with open arms the chance to visit the eisteddfod tent and join in the music first hand.
Nia and Emyr said it was a delight to see the residents smiling widely and gaining so much enjoyment from their visit.
Nia has worked for 10 years as musician in residence at Bryn Seiont Newydd, specialist care home for people living with dementia conditions.
She has also conducted extensive research in her own time on how singing and listening to music can alleviate some of the isolation which can be felt by so many people living with a dementia diagnosis.
Her new book released this year, Sketches of Broken Minds: A Musician’s Experience of Working in Dementia Care (Troubador Publishing, £10.99), explains how music has the ability to reach people living with various forms of dementia in a way that simple conversation often cannot.
She said: “It’s so good to be here today at what is the most important cultural festival in Wales, giving people a taste of the work we do at Pendine Park.
“We have tried in a fun, inclusive and interactive way to replicate the kind of music sessions which we regularly enjoy with residents at Bryn Seiont Newydd and demonstrate how music can be such an uplifting way to enhance people’s moods and trigger a whole range of memories.”
In the run up to the Eisteddfod the residents of Hillbury and Gwern Alyn also exercised their creative skills by taking part in a number of arts projects on an eisteddfod theme.
These included making bunting and crafting paper crowns for themselves to reflect the crowning of the bard ceremony which is always a highlight of the National Eisteddfod. Tradition dictates that the winner of the festival’s poetry competition each year is presented with a uniquely designed crown.
Pendine has also sponsored the Under 21s choir competition, funding it to the tune of £800.
