A fundraising concert for Spark of Life and Motor Neurone Disease
To celebrate International Day of Older Persons, Sunday, 1 October 2023, join performers from across the Commonwealth for a unique online concert in aid of two charities.
Bringing the generations together through music
To celebrate International Day of Older Persons, in partnership with The Commonwealth Resounds, we have bought the generations together across the Commonwealth for a special online concert in aid of two charities, Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life and research into ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Musicians from Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Malta and Uganda have generously contributed their time, effort, and talent to help support our appeal.
Read on to find out more about
a concert for Spark of Life and ALS
Introduced by Jane Seymour OBE
Global Ambassador for Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life
Headlined by international renowned Heerraa Ravindran
Award-winning singer-songwriter from Malaysia.
Jane starred in the film Ruby’s Choice. It tells the story of Ruby, a woman living alone with early dementia and its impact on her and her family when she moves in to live with them.
This ground-breaking film received the award for Best Picture from the Australian Screen Industry Network for 2022. Just recently, the film received two prestigious awards at the 2023 Burbank Film Festival for best feature film and best foreign feature film.
In addition Jane Seymour was honoured with the award for Best Actress for her outstanding authentic and perception-shifting portrayal of Ruby.
Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life was the charity associated with Ruby’s Choice and supported its production with advice about dementia.
Heerraa is a voting Member of the esteemed Recording Academy (GRAMMYs®). With a powerful and dynamic musical style, Heerraa has garnered widespread acclaim for her soul-stirring performances and profound songwriting.
Having toured new music in the US, Heerraa has performed in Nashville, Atlanta, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston.
Named one of Prestige Malaysia’s 40 Under 40 for the most successful, innovative, and influential young people, Heerraa’s repertoire includes her song, “The Girl Who Loved”, which was featured on Simulacra 2’s Original Game Soundtrack, as well as receiving the Best in North America (Pop) Award for her song, “Feel Alive”, & ICON Award at the InterContinental Music Awards 2022 in Los Angeles.
Programme
- Introduced by: Jane Seymour OBE
- Speaker: Dr Vivienne Cox, a 63-year-old bioscientist and amateur singer explains how her life has changed since her recent ALS diagnosis.
- Speaker: Nilanjana Maulik, Secretary General, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorder Society of India, Calcutta Chapter, Spark of Life Master Practitioner and CommonAge Fellow, explains how the Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life has changed lives in India. It includes a beautiful musical rendition of a poem written by Tagore, a Nobel Prize for Literature winner.
- Performer: Heerraa Ravindran, from Malaysia.
- Performer: The Joy Gospel Singers, from Malta.
- Performer: Devon Packer, from Canada.
- Performer: The Phoenix Collective, from Australia.
- Performer: The Pan African Choir ‘Malaika’, from Uganda.
- Speakers: Richard Semanda, Founder, Geriatric Respite Care Foundation, Uganda, Spark of Life Master Practitioner and CommonAge Ambassador, and Jesca Nakibirango, Founder of Rise and Shine Dyslexic Organisation, Uganda and Spark of Life Master Practitioner explains how the Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life has changed lives in Uganda.
Watch the concert here!
Raising funds for charity
While the concert is free to watch, we invite you to make a donation, which will be split between our two chosen charities, Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life an independent Australian-based charity supporting leaders around the Commonwealth, and the world to provide excellence in dementia care, and Music for ALS, which will fund research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
About Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life
Dementia affects so many people from all walks of life in our community, either directly or indirectly. The Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life offers new hope and possibilities for any person with dementia and their families, no matter where in society they are from.
When you donate to the Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life, you help alleviate the emotional suffering and ignite the Spark of Life in people with dementia, their families and carers – so all can live life to the fullest here and now.
The focus and purpose of Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life is to humanise care for people with dementia. It is about facilitating a culture where people with dementia feel valued, loved and supported.
This purpose is achieved through fundraising for education on the Spark of Life Model of Care, an internationally awarded best practice model that enriches the lives of people with dementia, their families and carers. The focus is on how we connect how we communicate and how we care. Some of the incredible results from implementing this model are that people with dementia can begin to reconnect with their families and carers, begin to speak again, and have their zest for life restored.
Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life has supported CommonAge Ambassadors who lead healthcare services in a number of countries including Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and India to provide an exceptional quality of dementia care for the people living with dementia, their carers and communities.
About Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND), is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. There is no cure for it yet, and it can affect people of many different ages, suddenly devastating their lives as their muscles in every part of their body cease to function. While some have a slow developing form, many of those affected die within two years of diagnosis.
Last year, Roberta Flack, singer of ‘Killing me Softly with his Song’ and ‘The First Time Ever I saw your Face’ was diagnosed with ALS, and due to the disease, she is no longer able to sing.
Dr. Vivienne Cox, a 63-year-old bioscientist and amateur singer who has recently been diagnosed with ALS, is battling the disease and using her skills and imagination to help other people. She is organising and participating in ‘7 Concerts in 7 Venues‘ to raise £70,000 to fund a multidisciplinary research team, via the Motor Neurone Disease Association to support Clinical Research at King’s College MND Research and Care Centre
‘Music for Life’ is one of the 7 concerts.
Celebrate our elders, and the generations coming together.
Music is a powerful uniter, bringing joy, harmony and wellbeing into our lives and communities.
We believe that the strongest societies are those that combine the energy, vitality, and potential of younger people with the wisdom and experience of elders.
The concert is partnership between the two Commonwealth accredited charities, CommonAge and The Commonwealth Resounds.
