Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KARE) — For one generation it's "Lion Sleeps Tonight", for another "Call Me Maybe."
They're the songs that get stuck in our heads, and not nearly so annoying when placed in the context of a choir made up of Alzheimer's patients.
"That's where the magic comes in," said Mary Lenard, founder of Minneapolis' Giving Voice Chorus earlier this year with her longtime friend, Marge Ostroushko.
Once a week since September, roughly 30 Alzheimer's and dementia patients have rehearsed side-by-side with their care givers at MacPhail Center for Music.
The "magic" to which Lenard refers happens once coats are hung and director Jeanie Brindley-Barnett raises her arms.
Suddenly, patients who entered the room having difficulty holding a thought or stringing even a few words together, belt out tunes from Rogers & Hammerstein and the Beatles.
To see more of the story, watch the video above, or visit [KARE's website.](<http://kare11.tv/1wuaTeN >)