On November 5, Colorado’s Fort Collins Symphony will host a brief presentation about the initial findings of B Sharp, a program for people living with dementia and their primary caregiver. Launched in 2015, B Sharp provides 30 people with dementia and a primary caregiver with season tickets to the Fort Collins Symphony. The program is designed to provide caregivers and their loved ones an opportunity to receive social support and benefit from live musical performances. The November 5 presentation by Dr. Jeni Cross, an associate professor of sociology at Colorado State University, will take place at Lincoln Center Performance Hall in Fort Collins just prior to the orchestra’s 8 p.m. concert. Under Dr. Cross’s leadership, the ongoing study measures the program on quality-of-life and social-sustainability factors. The study explores the impact of music on the cognitive ability of participants with dementia, the connections between the caregiver and person with dementia, and the degree to which participants feel supported by the community. The concert that follows the B Sharp presentation features Music Director Wes Kenney leading Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, Bizet’s Symphony No. 1, and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with soloist Michelle Kim, assistant concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic.
Posted November 4, 2016
