La SAMS Shares Music Beyond the Concert Halls

Trained as a bassoon player, Francoise Henri (MMus’98) has made it her mission to fill the lives of vulnerable people with music, and the pandemic isn’t slowing her down. Henri is the general and artistic director of the Société pour les arts en milieux de santé, better known as La SAMS. La SAMS was founded in 2009 with the goal of bringing classical music to hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing homes across Quebec. Since its inception, La SAMS has organized more than 8000 concerts in 650 institutions. 

During the pandemic, La SAMS had to adjust performances from live ensemble concerts to webcast solo concerts as musicians began self-isolation. Despite the rapid adaptations from La SAMS, many nursing homes and long-term care facilities did not have access to the internet – highlighting the technological inequalities in health care. Refusing to stand by idly, La SAMS crafted DVDs and mailed them to nursing homes to bring classical music to residents in the most isolated of circumstances.  

La SAMS also launched a streaming service called LaSAMS.tv with performances on demand and began broadcasting a live 45-minute concert every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Most nursing homes now have internet access, one of a number of improvements made in response to the pandemic. This summer, La SAMS will begin a series of outdoor concerts, and it has even begun playing in-person at some homes, but Henri ensures digital activities are here to stay. 

Read more in “Sharing music beyond the concert halls” by Christopher DeWolf (BA’06) in the McGill News Alumni Magazine.