Singing in Care is the brainchild of Maartje de Lint. Since studying classical singing & opera under the tutelage of Cora Canne Meijer at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, Maartje has performed both at home and abroad as a soloist on various opera and concert stages. Till recently, she had been a member of the Dutch National Opera choir (Amsterdam) for twenty years.
It was during her concerts that Maartje realised her voice had a particularly revitalising and positive effect especially on people with memory problems. Family members of the memory-impaired also reacted emotionally in response and surprise to the renewed lucidity and clear conversations that became possible for the memory-impaired after the singing experience. Maartje was so touched by this that she began researching how her voice – and singing in general – could be included in a special programme designed to serve and engage as many people as possible.
Thus, Singing in the Care was born in 2012. In addition to various products and services, Maartje developed the Care-Singers training course; a training course for singing and care professionals who offer their services at a healthcare institution or at people’s homes.
Maartje also provided the fringe programming for the performance ‘Forgotten’ by the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and started the project ‘In mir singt ein Lied‘ at the Leipzig opera, Germany. ‘In mir singt ein Lied’ is a special singing program for people with dementia and their partners.
Season 22-23, Maartje provides the tailor-made online train-the-trainer course for “Sing for Life”, a Pilot Seeding Programme as part of 2023 “No Limits”, an annual project co-presented by the Hong Kong Arts Festival and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust since 2019. “No Limits” aims to explore and promote inclusiveness and understanding through the arts.
Maartje is constantly expanding her professional expertise in related modalities. She is a certified trainer (BGL Driebergen) in Drama Therapy obtained from the Hogeschool Midden-Nederland; she is a certified Intuition Practitioner (Center for Effective Intuition in Haarlem) and also a certified Peter Hess Sound Therapist.
In 2017, Maartje was accredited with the “Dementia-friendly Together” certificate from Alzheimer Nederland (read the article at news). In 2019, she also provided the side programming for the tour of “Vergeten (Forgotten)”, a performance about dementia by the Nederlands Kamerkoor (Dutch Chamber Choir).
The science behind Singing in Healthcare
We work with the proven BASE method. Read more about BASE and our scientific supporters here.
Orpheus Curat Foundation
By utilising song and music, the Orpheus Curat Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people with dementia, brain disorders or psychological complaints. The foundation achieves its goal by using Singing Circles and the other dedicated programmes and services created by Maartje de Lint in order to share knowledge and expertise about the gentle power of singing in healthcare. Read more about the foundation at https://www.orpheuscurat.nl.