April 2023 - La SAMS announces a record year exceeding 1,000 concerts for its 2023 season. Through its growing presence in Quebec's healthcare facilities, La SAMS continues to bring relief, well-being and comfort to seniors and vulnerable people, as well as to all staff working in healthcare settings. More than half a million people have been reached since its founding in 2009.

La SAMSis a thousand and one ways to break the isolation and soothe the physical and psychological ailments of some of the most vulnerable people. It is a community joined by popular concerts in CHSLDs, musical visits at the bedside in hospitals, the SAM'Chante choir for people with aphasia or Alzheimer's, and virtual activities created for seniors at home. All this with one goal in mind: to enjoy a moment of exchange in a good mood and to share sweet moments thanks to the evocative power of music.

The voice and its colorsA benefit evening with Ève Laurier and Francis Reddy
This year, La SAMS is putting the spotlight on the voice for its annual benefit event on April 18, 2023 at the Rialto Theatre. The voice that envelops, comforts, transmits and unites us will be celebrated in all its forms. The lyrical voice will be on the program, but also that of our poets and those songs that have marked us, for a festive, warm and moving evening in the image of the activities of La SAMS.

"La SAMS is particularly dear to my heart because of the way it supports and soothes our seniors and vulnerable people through the journey of music, by providing work for professional musicians. What a privilege it is for me to be the honorary chairperson of this year's La SAMS fundraiser!" - Ève Laurier, Vice President Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs, Bombardier

The event will be hosted by Francis Reddy and will feature Quartom, Rose Naggar-Tremblay, Pierre Rancourt, Charlotte Gagnon, Michèle Motard, Laurence Lambert-Chan and Estelle Lavoie, as well as a performance by the Sam'Chante Choir composed of people with aphasia and Alzheimer's.

Tuesday, April 18 at the Rialto Theatre in Montreal
Cocktail reception and show
Auction with two etchings by Jean-Paul Riopelle
Tickets and information: 2023 Benefit Evening

Donate a concert at the facility of your choice
Requests from health care facilities are particularly high this year, so your support is invaluable. In the wake of the pandemic, music and the arts are more than ever recognized as essential components of a harmonious life and balanced mental health.

Donations can be made via the samsante.org website, by mail or by phone at 514 802-8908. It is possible to choose the institution for which you would like your donation to contribute. A big thank you in advance on behalf of the vulnerable public of La SAMS who are eagerly awaiting the visit of the musicians.

La SAMS
Founded in 2009, La SAMS is a charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of the most vulnerable through increased access to the arts and the benefits of music. Since its inception, it has presented nearly 9,500 concerts and musical initiatives to people in health care settings or at home, while engaging over 200 professional artists each year. All of these innovative and caring actions are made possible by the generous partners and donors who support La SAMS.

Montreal, March 6, 2022 - The Conseil des arts de Montréal is proud to have collaborated for over 20 years with the Conseil québécois de la musique in the Opus Awards gala, which highlights the excellence and diversity of concert music in Quebec.

At the 25th edition of the event, the Opus Inclusion and Diversity Montréal Prize was awarded to the Society for the Arts in Healthcare ( La SAMS). This award, which is accompanied by a $10,000 grant from the Conseil des arts de Montréal, aims to better reflect the multiple realities and facets of the musical practices that coexist in the city.

About La SAMS

SAMS is the largest network of professional musicians presenting custom concerts in health care settings in Quebec. Present throughout Quebec, 's mission is to improve the lives of patients and residents in health care institutions through better access to the arts.

La SAMS collaborates with some 220 established professional artists who enable it to carry out its important mission. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the organization has been remarkably active, presenting some 660 concerts to people in health care facilities, including many seniors, bringing comfort, warmth and hope to a much-needed audience.

The jury was keen to recognise the indispensable nature of this organisation as a beacon of light, particularly at a time when we collectively need so much sharing, comfort and caring.
"La SAMS has redoubled its creativity and boldness since the beginning of the pandemic to make a difference in people's lives. As music is a real source of comfort, I would like to congratulate La SAMS for bringing it to the ears of the most isolated people ," said Ben Marc Diendéré, Chair of the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

Whether through its concerts, its " Calls from the Heart", where musicians offer performances over the phone, or its " Capsules du cœur", available online and on DVD, La SAMS has distinguished itself as one of the most inclusive music organizations in our community. The Conseil des arts de Montréal could not be happier to join the Conseil québécois de la musique in presenting this much-deserved award.

About the Conseil des arts de Montréal

As a dynamic partner in Montréal's professional artistic creation, the Conseil des arts de Montréal identifies, accompanies, supports and recognizes excellence in artistic creation, production and dissemination. It encourages openness, discovery and daring at the heart of Montreal's artistic landscape through its structuring actions.
Since 1956, the Conseil des arts de Montréal has contributed to the development of "Montréal, cultural metropolis".

Source: Conseil des arts de Montréal

La SAMS (Society for Arts in Healthcare) is more supportive than ever of the medical and musical community in these uncertain times. Since the beginning of the pandemic, La SAMS has reinvented itself by transforming its concerts in health care facilities into online concerts and music calls; for the upcoming holiday season, it will offer a large virtual concert. La SAMS thus responds to the crying need to break the isolation by bringing the comfort of music. In addition," says Sylvia L'Écuyer, President of La SAMS, "these concerts allow us to offer contracts to musicians who can then pursue their artistic and social commitment.
More than 600 concerts
The primary mission of La SAMS is the well-being through music of people living in health care institutions throughout Quebec, including many seniors. In these troubled times, which have forced a refocusing of its offer, La SAMS remains in solidarity with the medical and musical community by improving its concert formulas in the following ways:

• The Heartfelt Calls (189 calls): by telephone, our singers and instrumentalists dedicate a few songs to them, in addition to being the occasion for a little personal discussion.
• the Capsules du Cœur, available online (4,800 views) and on DVD: short films that take you into the daily lives of these professional artists who form La SAMS.
• Live concerts via platforms such as Zoom.
• and, from May to October, Concerts-serenades in the balconies: musical performances that take place outside the establishments.

A total of 660 musical performances have been offered since the pandemic, representing $150,000 in fees for the artists. All of these events confirm the critical need to maintain the offer, in a modified form.

The benefits of music across Quebec
"In this time of pandemic, what could be more comforting than to receive music? Imagine what it means for our seniors who are losing their autonomy, threatened and confined within four walls. As you will have understood, in this context, concerts offer more than oxygen. They soothe. Music is an incomparable source of pleasure. It requires little effort from the listener, has no side effects and is accessible to all.
Professor Isabelle Peretz, Canada Research Chair in Neurocognition of Music, Université de Montréal
La SAMS brings the benefits of music throughout Quebec in health care institutions to the following clienteles: seniors in CHSLDs, residences, patients in hospitals, mental health institutes and rehabilitation centres.

Anyone who wants to help provide sweetness in music in these difficult times, while helping artists pursue their art, is invited to make a difference by making a donation: samsante.org.
It is also possible to offer these services to seniors around you by contacting La SAMS at info@samsante.org.

La SAMS (Society for the Arts in Healthcare)
Created in 2009, La SAMS is the largest network of professional musicians presenting custom concerts in healthcare settings in Quebec. A registered charity, it is dedicated to improving the lives of people in health care facilities through better access to the arts and the benefits of music. Since its inception, it has presented close to 7,000 concerts to 300,000 frail people, while engaging more than 220 professional artists from the best classical, jazz, world music and vocal ensembles.
Information
Florence Troncy, Director of Development, Partnerships and Philanthropy
ftroncy@samsante.org or 514 802-8908
La SAMS
samsante.org
facebook.com/santeetmusique
instagram.com/lasams_official
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