Our Mission
We welcome participants to join our weekly sing-a-long of familiar tunes, and enjoy musical fellowship. We aim to foster community among individuals with neurodegenerative diseases, their families, friends, volunteers, and carepartners - under the guidance of a music director and accompanist.
Our Story
The Beginning
In 2014, Carol Rosenstein watched as her husband Irwin, a once-vibrant lawyer and pianist, slipped away due to Parkinson's disease and dementia. As communication became increasingly difficult, hope seemed lost—until Irwin sat at the piano and began to play.
With each note of familiar melodies, he transformed, regaining his spark and spirit. Inspired by this miraculous moment and the insights of his neurodegenerative on music's power to change brain chemistry, Carol founded Music Mends Minds, to share this extraordinary healing through music with others facing neurodegenerative challenges, igniting a movement that would impact countless lives.
Today
Supported by Rotary International, MMM has chapters across the U.S. The program uses music to engage people who have a cognitive impairment and their companions. Dr. Anne Fanning, a retired physician and educator, approached the Rev. Madeleine Urion to see if St. George’s Anglican Church, located just blocks from the University of Alberta Hospital and Cross Cancer Institute of Alberta, would consider hosting a local MMM chapter.
