This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)
As the end of the year approaches, I want to update you on the latest developments at La Scena Musicale (LSM) and inform you about our end-of-year fundraising campaign and subscription renewal offer.
It has been months since the reopening of concert halls to full capacity. Arts organisations across Canada have cautiously resumed their programming.
2022 Subscription and Donation Drive
The pandemic has affected all media. In March 2020, we wrote to our regular supporters asking them to donate earlier in the year than normal. This helped us weather the storm. As the outlook remains uncertain, we hope you will continue to donate and help by buying or renewing a subscription.
La Scena Musicale was on track to complete a banner season in March 2020 before the Coronavirus virus struck. Our annual budget depends largely on advertising revenue, most of it related to live concerts. For obvious reasons, there were many months of readjustment as concert and opera presenters sought new ways of bringing their vital services to the public. La Scena Musicale has worked co-operatively with these creative enterprises to ensure that the new culture of artistic innovation is widely disseminated. We are proud to be Canada’s largest bilingual arts media with almost all content available in both French and English, both in print and online.
The obstacles remain considerable, as printing costs have risen seven times in the last two years due to limited paper supply, and advertising revenue remains limited and uncertain. During the pandemic, we took advantage of government emergency grants to keep our staff fully employed and productive, but the Wage Subsidy ended in May 2022.
We have been fortunate to gather a dedicated team at La Scena Musicale and plan to add writers to our roster, but, with inflation, our staffing costs are also rising. Our switch five years ago to an all-colour format with increased content has been welcomed by readers. Our website, weekly e-news and La Scena Tête-à-Tête series of online interviews are reaching a new and growing audience. This is no time to move backwards.
For all of these reasons I hope you will support us in our mission to provide engaging information and commentary on music and the arts. We at La Scena Musicale firmly believe that the arts will continue to thrive if given the support they deserve. You can affirm your own dedication to the arts by subscribing to the print edition La Scena Musicale—still, in my view, the most accessible and convenient format—and making a donation. Donations made before the end of this calendar year, dated on or before December 31, 2022, will ensure that we begin 2023 in a strong financial position, and will allow you to benefit from a tax receipt for your 2022 tax return. Please contact us for donation of stocks or for planned giving.
Another way to help is buying merchandise in the LSM Boutique which includes our Greeting Cards. And don’t forget to celebrate love with our annual Singing Valentines (for Valentine’s Day) and our annual Mother’s Day Virtual Concert.
Upcoming Plans
Our 2022 November/December/January 2023 issue represented the end of our publishing schedule for 2022; the pandemic did not stop us from continuing to take pride in representing the music and artists of our country through our seven issues (six colour and one black-and-white).
For 2023, we plan to continue our national issues in both English and French editions; as special book-magazine issues are becoming more and more popular in the magazine industry, we plan to introduce some issues for the Fall of 2023 including a special on composer Giacomo Puccini for the centenary of his death. You can pre-order your copy today at a discounted price of $10 (instead of $20).
We are still hoping to celebrate our 25th anniversary (delayed due to COVID) but finding an appropriate venue has been challenging. In the new year, we hope to announce more details.
The pandemic has caused setbacks but the arts will continue to thrive if people of good faith remain steadfast in their support. Please consider a subscription (or gift subscription) to La Scena Musicale and a tax-deductible donation.
As always, La Scena Musicale maintains a vigorous presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Our website offers new resources daily. Pandemic or no pandemic, the arts will thrive. As will La Scena Musicale.
On behalf of our staff and contributors we thank you and wish you a wonderful holiday season filled with family, music and the arts.
Wah Keung Chan, Founding Editor and Publisher
P.S. We have included an envelope for your convenience. You can also make a donation or take out a subscription at www.mySCENA.org or by calling us at 514-948-2520 x 3.
P.P.S. Please note that all donations will be acknowledged with a tax receipt in early February 2023.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)
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