About Us
Defying dementia through music!
"Singing for people with Dementia has shown improvements in general feelings of well-being as well as stimulating memory responses and promoting sense of belonging and social bonding."
(Osman et al, 2016)
Mission statement
Raising Voices works to give persons living with dementia and their carepartners a way to enjoy the health and social benefits of making music together. Access to meaningful engagement in a supportive choral community can maximize individual abilities and provide members with the opportunity for self-expression, self-determination, and success. It is our hope that through a positive musical environment that promotes dignity and respect, dementia patients and their care partners can realize holistic improvements to their well-being and quality of life.
Community
Living with dementia can be isolating, coming together to sing and socialize reminds participants and care partners that they are not alone.
Purpose
Raising Voices gives back a sense of value and purpose that a dementia diagnosis can so easily take away.
Physical and emotional well-being
From acting as a natural dopamine promoter to igniting stronger physical movements, music is proven to improve physical & emotional well-being.
Purple is the color of Alzheimer's awareness, so our team sports purple scarves at events. Singers will also wear purple scarves for our concerts!
Photo from our introductory singalong on January 25, 2025 - Left to right: Julie McCoy, Sarah DeYong, Camille DeYong, Ainsley Carmichael (photo by Elizabeth Harrison)
Join our Board of Directors!
Are you dedicated to the Stillwater community? Are you invested in the future of Raising Voices? Click here to review the board roles we are looking to fill. Then send this form to info@raisingvoicesok.com
In November we will be electing board members for the 2026 fiscal year.
Board of Directors and staff
Our Board Members and staff have led Raising Voices from a tentative community project to a sustainable and stable community choir! Each is passionate about the positive impact that music can have on a person's life. They are dedicated to fostering a joyful, empowering choral program that improves the lives of those experiencing cognitive decline, and showcases what living well with dementia can look like.
Dr. Camille DeYong
President of the Board
IIE Professor Emerita
Oklahoma State University
​
Camille's Stillwater roots run deep. She attended SHS then OSU, earning her Phd in Industrial Engineering. This path culminated in a tenured professorship in the Engineering Department at Oklahoma State University. She also served on the school board for Stillwater Public Schools for a number of years. Camille has been a chorister since high school and still sings for the choir at Highland Park United Methodist Church.
Julie Whittington McCoy
Secretary of the Board
Instructor of Voice
Founder of Stillwater Chamber Singers
​
Julie believes singing together is life-affirming. To that end, she sang choral music professionally for decades and co-founded two choirs with her husband Jerry, including the Stillwater Chamber Singers. As a singing teacher, she taught in Oklahoma and Texas and currently is an adjunct professor of voice at OSU. Julie’s older brother is living with Alzheimer’s.
Sarah DeYong
Executive Director / Choral Director
Voice Professor
Oklahoma City University
​
Sarah grew up in Stillwater but earned her MFA at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Her area of research was trauma-informed voice care because she believes there is a strong connection between singing and well-being. One of the most impactful experiences for her, which highlighted this connection, was volunteering for the Giving Voice Chorus in Minneapolis. Raising Voices is modeled after this choir!
Valerie Bloodgood
Board Member
Hazel Modella Art Gallery
​
​Valerie is an experienced Community Liaison with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. She has a Masters degree focused in Community Counseling/Gerontology from Oklahoma State University. Valerie is skilled at nonprofit work and has been helping us plan our project from the beginning. Valerie is a founding member of Hazel Modella Art Gallery, where we hold rehearsals.
Ainsley Carmichael
Administrative Assistant
CDIS Student
Oklahoma State University
​
Ainsley is a native Texan (with a Sooner family…) who is a junior at OSU pursuing a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She has been singing in choirs and performing her whole life and has had the opportunity to see up close how powerful and filling music can be. She hopes to continue her education to become a certified SLP to work with vocalists and the older population. Multiple of her family members have been diagnosed with different types of cognitive decline.
​
Dr. Sarah Sarver
Board Member
Assistant Professor of Music Theory
Oklahoma State University
Bruce Sarver
Treasurer of the Board
Kathy Kocan
Board Member
Donna Sinnes
Volunteer Coordinator
​
Dr. Sabiha Parveen
Board Member
Karen Kenny
GVI Advisor
GVI National Advisory Council
​
Karen, a Stillwater native, has been involved in Giving Voice since the inception as a volunteer singer for the pilot program at McPhail and as a member of the Giving Voice Initiative Board. In 2018, Karen relocated to Houston, Texas where she volunteered with the Together in Song chorus. She currently is a member of the National Giving Voice Advisory Panel.
Megan Barth Argo
Founding Member
Vocal Coach, Opera Répétiteur
Oklahoma City University
Tulsa Youth Opera Chorus
​
Megan Barth Argo is Opera Répétiteur and Vocal Coach for the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University. She is a rising collaborative artist who has performed and studied throughout the United States and Barcelona, Spain. Ms. Argo is an accomplished music director who has music-directed over 50 opera and music theater productions. She holds an MM in Vocal Coaching from Oklahoma City University, an MM in Piano Performance from Kent State University, and a BA in Piano Performance from Ashland University
FAQ
What are rehearsals like?
You will meet weekly to sing a variety of music, familiar and challenging. You will receive a personalized music book and practice CD. The music director and volunteers are all dementia-aware and available to assist. Each 2 hr rehearsal period is run with the same structure for fun and predictability.
-
Arrival and social time - 20-30 minutes
-
Opening ritual song and warm-up - 5 minutes
-
Working on repertoire - 40 minutes
-
Move & groove - 5 minutes
-
"Music & Me" - 5 minutes (a choir member shares the impact of music on their lives)
-
Announcements - 5 minutes
-
Closing ritual - 5 minutes​
Will there be a public performance?
Yes! Raising Voices is a community program that supports living well with dementia. A pubic performance provides a goal and purpose for the chorus members. It also vividly demonstrate to family members, friends, and other audience members that many people with Alzheimer’s can experience a sense of joy, community, and accomplishment that they never thought possible
Is there a fee to join?
No! The choir is free to join. We are continually fundraising for the choir but at this time we do anticipate a small fee for supplies (binders, sheet music, concert space, etc.) so if you're able, we suggest a $25 donation when you join.
How is the choir different from music therapy or sing-alongs?
Raising Voices is not a music therapy program. Music therapy is the clinical and evidence based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Raising Voices may be therapeutic but it is not therapy.
It's also not a sing-along, which would use well-known songs but the participants sing only the melody. Many of the songs are fun and familiar but most of them are in three voice parts. This way, Raising Voices involves both experiential and sequential learning.
Who can join?
Raising Voices is for anyone and everyone! No experience or skill level is required or expected. The music will feature many familiar tunes. Others may be new but the music center of your brain (along with rehearsal, volunteers, and practice CDs) will help you to learn them. Always remember that Raising Voices is a mistake-friendly space! Joy, not perfection, is our goal.
What's the benefit for care partners?
Providing a positive and joyful experience that people with Alzheimer’s and their care partners can enjoy together is a key objective of the Giving Voice program. A care partner must accompany each singer with dementia but they may or may not be the one providing daily living support to the person with Alzheimer’s. In our chorus, care partners include spouses, friends, adult children or grandchildren, sisters or brothers, and any person whom the person living with dementia trusts and feels secure with. Each care partner participates in the chorus as a singer.
What do the volunteers do?
Volunteers are there to provide social, singing and task support throughout rehearsals. Raising Voices does not provide licensed or professional caregiving support but our volunteers can help turn pages, mark notes, repeat instructions, fetch water/supplies, answer questions, and generally engage in merriment and song.
Do I need a diagnosis?
No. We will not ask you or your care partner for a diagnosis. Raising Voices operates with the belief that "a good dementia program doesn't talk about dementia." You are free to share or keep private whatever feels right to you.
I am not a singer and I can't read music... can I still join?
Yes! Every skill level is welcome and wanted! We will provide lyric sheets so you can follow along in the way that works best for you! Most of the songs are in 3 part harmony, so we will also provide practice CDs so you can work on your part at home.