A UNIQUE concert is to celebrate the human spirit in the face of one of the cruellest diseases.

Renowned composer John McHugh will be working with the Mishima Quartet at the Pyramid on Friday, October 13, to transform the voices of those living with dementia into music.

John, who graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 1990 with the highest award (PPRNCM), started working with Nugent Care on the project two and a half years ago. The 50-year-old, who has performed at the Royal Festival Hall and on a QE2 Cruise Liner, spoke to about 20 families affected by dementia and different stories and themes from every stage of the disease started to develop.

John is best known for The Big Voice when he turned the sound and rhythm of the Liverpool accent into a classical symphony as part of the city’s Capital of Culture celebrations a decade ago. That became the starting point for ‘Hidden Voice’.

John, who studied classical guitar under John Williams, said: “We knew that music can have profound effects on dementia in terms of aiding memory. There’s been lots of work on that. But we wanted to try something new. We wanted to try and use music as a vehicle for raising awareness.

“I found the melody within the Liverpool accent by interviewing people and setting their speech patterns to music.

“When we started we didn’t know if it would work but it went really well.

“So a few years later when we had the idea for the piece with Nugent Care I wondered if I could use some of the same techniques. We went around care homes in the north west and we interviewed people with dementia and their families.

“Because it’s such a sensitive issue I was worried they wouldn’t want to talk about it but they really did.

“I found that there was a voice that needed to be heard and that’s where the title Hidden Voice came from.

“For example, I spoke to someone called Tony who was a carer for his mum and he was talking about how it changed their lives and how on certain days she wouldn’t recognise him. But he also talked eloquently about the times they’d had together.”

The first performance of Hidden Voice was at Liverpool Cathedral and in December John will even be playing the piece at the NHS Alliance Conference in London.

John, who has composed music for Lucozade and Delta Airways advertising campaigns, added: “It was quite hard when I was working on it.

“I was just going with the flow when I was composing but I found it was really moving.

“A chap in Manchester, who’s a carer for his mother, came up to me and said it was really important because it made him feel like he’s not alone.

“I work with a charity called Music in Mind and the idea is that music is good for your mind and it’s good for your health and wellbeing but also music can be used to put weight behind a cause. I’m no expert on dementia but we’re using music and the arts to raise awareness.

“It’s a slightly strange concept but we’ve found when we perform the piece it’s really powerful.

“What happens is it’s almost as if the people on the screen are singing. Everyday speech is heightened and becomes more emotional.”

Tickets for Hidden Voice can be booked at pyramidparrhall.com or by calling 442345.