This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
This year, La Scena Musicale ran another successful Singing Valentines fundraiser. The magazine delivered more than 100 free serenades, performed by trained singers, to seniors—and received more than 40 orders for personalized serenades for loved ones.
The mission to provide 100 free Valentine’s Day serenades to seniors annually was introduced by La Scena Musicale’s founder, Wah Keung Chan. Having recently lost both his father and father-in-law, Chan wanted to start the year with a special offering of love to seniors all across Canada. Following the initiative’s positive reception last year, when over 340 seniors across Canada remotely received serenades, he knew that the program had to be repeated.
In this year’s 14th edition, over 250 seniors across Canada benefited from free serenades by our talented roster of singers. This included groups at the L’Chaim Adult Day Centre in Vancouver, the Contactivity Centre in Westmount, Que., and the Abbottsford Senior’s Centre in Ottawa, Ont.
A wide variety of pieces were offered, ranging from Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose to classics like What a Wonderful World and operatic favourites such as Dvořák’s Song To The Moon. Performances were then delivered either via a phone call on Valentine’s Day, or by pre-recorded video, available for viewing as of Feb. 14. Fifty per cent of the funds raised by paid serenades were given back to the singers.
L’Chaim Centre co-ordinator Leah wrote to La Scena Musicale, saying “thank you for the beautiful songs.” She added, “All of the artists are amazing performers, and our seniors really felt taken care of. They found the songs delightful and were very touched.”
“What a lovely surprise from my husband! And to have the singers personalize it by saying our names in the introduction—priceless!,” wrote Alanna, one of our video serenade recipients.
We would like to thank our artists Kripa Nageshwar, Monika Mazanka, Louise-Andrée Baril, Steven Morton, Valérie Poisson, Geneviève Neuville, Wah Keung Chan, Jérémie Brocard, Nils Brown, Joseph Terterian, Bridget Esler, Katie Fernandez, Chantal Dionne, Geneviève Roy, Eva Stone-Barney and Don Adriano for their commitment, time and generosity this Valentine’s Day, and for bringing music to the homes of many.
“I was able to give joy and beautiful experiences to people who really appreciated them,” said Nageshwar. “I really enjoyed singing for the seniors because they are often not given the kinds of arts and culture experiences or personalized gifts that many others may get. For some, it’s a beautiful walk down memory lane.”
Personalized serenades are available throughout the year for birthdays and anniversaries myscena.org/serenades.
If you are inspired by our commitment to this project, please consider making a donation; email [email protected] or, if you would like to partner with us, email [email protected].
Playlist
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
