The Kode choir

The choir meets every Tuesday from 11:00 to 13:00 in the Fest Hall at Permanenten.

No singing experience is required to join! Each rehearsal begins and ends with social time. Music-loving friends and family members are warmly welcome to participate. The songs we sing are chosen in collaboration between the conductor and all choir members.

We end each season with a concert in Troldsalen at Troldhaugen.

Would you like to join?

Register your interest by sending an email to hanne.jones@bergennks.no

About the Kode Choir

The Kode Choir is a mixed choir for people both with and without dementia. Established in spring 2023, it is a music outreach initiative at the museum. The choir was founded as a collaboration between Kode, Bergen Sanitetsforening, Bergen Municipality, and NKS Olaviken. The goal of this partnership was to create an inclusive space where individuals with and without dementia can participate on equal terms

The choir members without dementia include friends, volunteers, family members, and members of the project group. In its first year, the project group consisted of art and music educators, dementia researchers, a nurse, and a specialist psychologist, in addition to the conductor and pianist.

In the choir, we base our approach on the principles of equality, accessibility, and co-creation to ensure that choir members with dementia experience a sense of belonging and equal participation in the community.

An article about this interdisciplinary choir project was published in Museum on December 13, 2023: "Kor på Kode – musical interaction at the museum. How can an interdisciplinary collaboration between a museum, a volunteer organization, and a healthcare institution create a space for citizenship for people with dementia?" https://tidsskriftetmuseum.no/kor-pa-kode-musikalsk-samspill-pa-museet/ 

Today, the project group consists of a smaller team of professionals. The choir now has 35–40 members and rehearses once a week in the Fest Hall at Permanenten. Each rehearsal concludes with lunch and social time.

Throughout the year, the choir holds a spring concert and a Christmas concert, both accompanied by a full band, at Troldhaugen. Additionally, we celebrate with an autumn appreciation event. The choir has also enjoyed guided art tours and visits to several of Kode’s composer homes.

Kode thanks Hilmar Rekstens Almennyttige Fond for their financial support.