“Soirees in Song” is the new and improved organization formerly known as “Operatunities”, fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas since September 2010.
The name has been changed to more accurately represent what we do - which is to bring high quality, finished vocal programs into resident care communities, including assisted living, skilled nursing or hospice facilities.
I (Carla Swedish, Founder and Executive Director) loved the play on words of providing “opera-tunities” for under-served yet discerning audiences; as well as to singers with polished, professional programs who desired to repeat their performances in multiple venues. I love win-win scenarios!
From the beginning, however, we have offered mostly programs of art song or musical theatre material…and technically very few opera arias.
And, from the beginning, I wished to convey a special and elegant nature to our programming. We seek to present programs that residents may formerly have attended in a theatre, cabaret setting or concert hall; but, for whatever reason, now find it difficult to access.
“Soiree” literally means “an evening gathering, typically in a private house, for conversation or music”. Granted many of our programs occur in the afternoon, but the word “soiree” has taken on a more general meaning of an outing or special gathering. And the implication of the word is elegance. Plus, we are definitely gathering in our audiences’ homes!
Our favorite and most well-received programs have been those that provided a festive event, with our performance of songs of a variety of genres as the centerpiece.
We love to work with life enrichment directors, or activities directors, or recreational therapists, as well as facility staff, at each venue, to provide fun and uplifting events. And we love it when the facility gets the word out to residents’ families to join their loved one for an elegant cultural event.
Soirees in Song is an organization based on the following beliefs:
•that life is meant to be good for us; that we are all meant to thrive; that every problem has a solution, every negative a positive.
•that continuing care, assisted living, skilled nursing, hospices and other resident care facilities are founded on the idea of providing quality of life and being part of the solution for people living with physical, mental and emotional challenges; and challenges related to aging.
•that no matter how old or how sick you are, relief can be found in the soothing distraction of art, and particularly music.
•that for many people, music stimulates, enhances and promotes healing even when healing doesn’t mean “cure”.
•that music can bring someone back to themselves if they feel lost; can bring up cathartic emotional responses so one can move forward; can soothe and uplift in its sheer beauty.
•that familiar music can stimulate memory and brain function.
•that a person is never too old or too infirm not to benefit from exposure to something new.
•that if a person finds they are less mobile and unable to go out to a concert or a musical production, there really ought to be a way to bring those cherished experiences to them.
•that the connection between a live performer and their audience is a very powerful and healing co-creative experience.
•that the love and care that a performer takes in honing their craft, in preparing a specific performance and loving their offering into full, ready-to-perform “being” is felt by an audience.
•that this professionalism makes an audience feel special, honored and even loved.
And it’s really beneficial to the performer too! Because, I also believe that for performers at an advanced and professional level, whether currently employed or not, the best (maybe only) way to keep getting better and to refine their craft is by finishing programs and by repeated performances of those programs.
So, why does Soirees in Song need your donation? Soirees in Song subsidizes whatever budget a care community or facility has for artistic programming. Sometimes this is zero; and often it is not enough to compensate professional artists for the time and dollars it cost them to create their program. We strive to present programs that are on par with a recital or cabaret that one might attend at a concert hall or a theatre. Only we do it right where our audiences live.
Our challenge is that, unlike arts organizations that earn 40% of their revenue from ticket sales, we do not sell tickets. Resident care communities include not only room and board, but classes, arts programs, etc. all as part of the “package” of living in the community. There is quite a range in the quantity and quality of uplifting artistic programming available to residents, especially when mobility has become an issue. Soirees in Song seeks to raise the bar in the area of the quality of arts programming to which residents have access.
We are, essentially, asking you to provide uplifting and enriching - and I would go so far as to say healing - experiences for someone else. We sincerely appreciate our donors’ support; and we hope that you will know and appreciate that you have had a positive impact on the well-being of many others.