Listening to Carers’ Voices
Parallel 3
17 November, 2026 5:00 – 6:10 pmVoices, Verse and Melody: Creativity in Dementia Care
Alan Williams is a composer and writer on contemporary music and culture, and Professor of Collaborative Composition at the University of Salford.. He studied at the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester and at the Liszt Academy, Budapest. His music has been performed by world leading ensembles such as the BBC Philharmonic, the BBC Singers, the Philharmonia, MDR Radio Choir, and Psappha, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, MDR (Germany), NEC (Brazil) and Bartók Rádió (Hungary). In 2016 he created a score for Val McDermid’s adaptation of The Kraken Wakens, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016, and in 2017 he wrote the ‘world’s first Northern opera’ with Ian McMillan, with poet Ian McMillan. In 2023 he created Healing Tales, a collaborative composition with NHS workers in Bolton telling the story of their experience of the COVID pandemic, and this led him to develop the Listening Composer method of collaborative composition.
Helen had an unwanted introduction to dementia when her husband developed young onset dementia in his 40s. She subsequently moved to Manchester to do a PhD using MRI to investigate early signs of dementia. She is now retired, but very active with several dementia charities.
Prof Alan Williams
Professor of Collaborative Composition, School of Arts, Media and Creative Technologies
Unversity of Salford

Helen Beaumont
Retired

Helen had an unwanted introduction to dementia when her husband developed young onset dementia in his 40s. She subsequently moved to Manchester to do a PhD using MRI to investigate early signs of dementia. She is now retired, but very active with several dementia charities.
Summary
Alan Williams and a group of carers have worked together over several months to co-write a piece of classical music reflecting their experiences. This piece will be performed by Manchester Camerata at one of their regular concerts.


