Concerts in Care Ontario (CiCO) delivers professional concerts to Canada’s most vulnerable aging population – a sector society consistently undervalues and neglects.
We belong to the Health Arts/Concerts in Care/LaSAMS National Network, the largest pan-Canadian arts provider for seniors.
Our program is about much more than entertainment – it’s a life-enhancing focal point for building bridges between elders, care partners, loved ones, and healthcare staff while at the same time engaging powerful emotions that can alleviate loneliness, reduce anxiety, and create a sense of community within care facilities.
CiCO’s 45-minute concerts feature excellent professional musicians and high quality programs that represent the best music from many genres. In each concert, selections are a maximum of 8-10 minutes in length to accommodate short attention spans, and narrative (introductions, descriptions, storytelling) is key to connecting musicians personally to the audience members. CiCO understands that social connection is as important as the musical connection.
“I have been having a difficult time adjusting to living in a retirement residence, but after the concert yesterday I felt I was part of life again,” shares Mary from Elliot Lake.
Concerts in Care Ontario (CiCO) launched its first concerts in 2011, joining an association of Health Arts Societies founded in BC by David Lemon in 2006. He saw how music was used effectively to mitigate isolation and loneliness for seniors in the UK and decided it could be done in Canada. When the BC concept proved itself, he founded other organizations in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan and Atlantic.
CiCO has a research partnership with the Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, and partners with organizations such as the Music and Health Research Institute to study aspects of music and aging, and to share best practices and new developments across health and arts sectors.
Since 2011, Concerts in Care Ontario has provided more than 3,500 concerts, touching 381,000 seniors, caregivers, and healthcare staff, creating more than 8,200 musician engagements.