As 2023 begins, the evenko foundation is pleased to report excellent results for the year that has just ended. In recent months, donations of musical instruments have allowed nine schools and organizations to introduce young people to music and provide them winning conditions to perfect their art. A new program was also launched, which helped hundreds of young people to attend a show for the first time. In 2022, the evenko foundation donated almost $300,000 to the community. 

 

“The past year demonstrated, more than ever, the importance of our foundation’s mission. On behalf of the entire team, a big thank you to our donors, volunteers and artists for their support of our cause. We also would like to recognize the importance of music teachers’ work with young people,” said Roman Oryschuk, evenko foundation Chairman of the Board.  

 

“In addition to the countless personal benefits of music, it also facilitates learning of certain subjects like languages and math, and at the same time contributes to preventing young people from dropping out of school. We are proud to support music teachers who believe, like we do, that music education is essential to the development of young people, and who witness how it benefits their students on a daily basis,” said Nathalie Roberge, evenko foundation Executive Director. 

 

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Musical instruments donated to nine Quebec schools and organizations   

Thanks to the collaboration of Sirius XM, the evenko foundation was able to donate more than $240,000 worth of musical instruments to schools and organizations across Quebec. Five artists accompanied the foundation during the announcements:  

 

• Charlotte Cardin generously accepted to donate a dollar per ticket sold to the foundation for her three shows at the Amphithéâtre Cogeco. Thanks to the money raised by the artist’s shows, and the donation from Sirius XM, the evenko foundation was able to offer the Pionniers de Trois-Rivières high school musical instruments worth $25,000 for their new popular music program.   

 

• The music concentration program at the Curé-Mercure de Mont-Tremblant high school was fortunate enough to be supported by a $50,000 donation to renew its instruments, some of which were more than 35 years old. Trombonist and conductor Alain Trudel met with the school’s students to share his passion and advice with budding musicians. 

 

• The young violinists from the Montmartre de Pointe-aux-Trembles primary school, visited by Angèle Dubeau, received new violins adjusted to their size so they can play more comfortably. Thanks to this $25,000 donation, 30 more students will have access to violin lessons next year.  

 

• Mélissa Bédard was in attendance when $25,000 worth of saxophones was donated to the Neufchâtel secondary school in Québec, which she attended as a teenager. The singer took the opportunity to pay tribute to her former music teacher, Stéphane Boulanger, who had a major impact in her life and who continues to inspire students at the school. 

 

• The group Les Trois Accords accompanied the foundation’s team to its first donation of technology, worth $35,000. The RésoLab at the Saint-Étienne primary school in Drummondville received iPads, a mini keyboard, microphones, earphones and connectors so that students can let their creativity flow while composing songs and remixing well-known tunes.   

 

 

Real needs met thanks to donations from the evenko foundation 

For the current school year, the foundation received a record number of requests for instruments from organizations and schools across Quebec. Discussions with public school music teachers confirm that budgets for instruments vary significantly from one school to another, and are more often than not far below real needs.   

  

“In public sector primary schools, budgets vary and can be as low as $150 a year, which barely covers instrument upkeep, never mind purchases or replacements. This reality forces teachers to turn to outside sources of funding. Some of them even use their own money to put instruments in their classrooms,” said Nathalie Roberge. 

 

The cost of instruments for a secondary level music program can reach several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Currently, instruments are often 30 to 40 years old, and will need to be renewed in the next few years. Renewing the instruments to ensure the sustainability of a music program, can, for example, be spread out over decades. However, since budgets to support music courses are almost non-existent, the evenko foundation is all the more essential, and it expects to receive a growing number of requests to remedy these types of situations.  

 

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Show access program  

Since summer 2022, the evenko foundation has been heading up a pilot project for a new show access program that allows children and teens from various youth organizations to attend shows for free. The foundation is working with the Fondation des Jeunes de la DPJ, which accompanied a group of children to Disney on Ice performances. This type of event, typically not very accessible to this clientele, allows them to get lost in a moment of music. To date, more than 600 young people have been able to enjoy special moments as part of this program.  

 

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Artists committed to the cause 

In addition to the personalities who participated in the school activities, other artists accepted to add a dollar to the price of the tickets to their shows to raise funds for the foundation. Among them are international stars Mika and Stromae, as well as local stars Charlotte Cardin, Vulgaires Machins and Claudia Bouvette. A special thank you also goes to Gab Bouchard, who did an entire tour for the benefit of the evenko foundation. The funds raised thanks to Gab will allow $20,000 worth of instruments to be donated in 2023.  

 

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$80,000 worth of exclusive experiences and autographed items! 

The winners of the Osheaga and Lasso auctions for the foundation’s benefit had the chance to acquire autographed products by artists who were at the two festivals in 2022. As well, the first Encan des fêtes offered unique prizes such as pictures autographed by the legends who have passed through the Centre Bell (Barbra Streisand, Céline Dion, etc.), VIP experiences and tickets to exclusive shows.  Thanks to the auction, $80,000 was raised for the foundation. These initiatives will be back in 2023 with new offerings.