Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance and Southern Arizona VA Health Care System present a free concert series for VA patients, alternating Tuesdays

Dec. 7, 2012 — Music has served as a healing therapy for soldiers who served in battle since the first and second world wars.

In Tucson, Music for Our Veterans began in August 2012 when Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance contacted the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System to fill a need in the community and offer local, compassionate musicians opportunities to perform for veterans.

The free concerts for VA patients occur the first and third Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m., aiming to bring physical and emotional healing through the forms of musical arts.

Performances have included a variety of genres – folk, bluegrass, jazz, blues, rock, country and more – hoping to reach each patient on a personal level.

“This series gives them the chance to feel, if just for an hour that they are not in a medical facility,” said Deborah Brookshire, M.Ed., CAVS Program Manager at the Southern Arizona VA Hospital.

“Residents have been providing great feedback and saying how nice it is to hear quality live music,” Brookshire said, in addition “they enjoy socializing with the artists.”

Music has shown to help patients with post-traumatic stress disorder by activating areas in the brain that correlate with positive emotions. Around the nation, the VA has doubled the amount of musical therapists at their clinics in order to help heal a wide range of mental and physical disorders.

“The directed use of music and music therapy is highly effective in developing coping strategies, including understanding and expressing feelings of anxiety and helplessness, supporting feelings of self-confidence and security, and providing a safe or neutral environment for relaxation,” according to the American Musical Therapy Association.

In order to continue to provide this positive experience in Tucson, veterans rely on support from the generous donations in the community. Sponsors may support a single concert or several in the year, by contacting Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance.

The August 2012 to January 2013 performances have been sponsored by Bill Adler, who helped initiate the program.

 

Upcoming Performances

Dec. 18 Hip Replacements – jazz / rock

Jan. 8 ForTheLuvvaMusic – piano vocal jazz / Broadway

Jan. 22 Johnny Cashew – acoustic country

 

 

Music for Our Veterans

When: First and third Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m.

Where: Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, 3601 South 6th Avenue

Cost: Free for VA patients

Online: http://saaca.org/Veteran_s_Concerts.html

Phone: (520) 797-3959

NOTE TO MEDIA: Photos available

About the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance

The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to ensure that, through engagement in arts and culture, our communities produce strong, inspired citizens. SAACA enlists artists, businesses, governments, and individuals to expand artistic and cultural opportunities in their respective communities. To enhance access to the arts and to promote cultural awareness in the communities it serves, SAACA presents large-scale festivals, events and other programs. The Alliancealso promotes educational opportunities in the arts and culture for both the young and the old.

Organization History
The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) grew out of the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council (GOVAC), an organization established in 1997 to provide artistic and cultural opportunities for residents of northwestTucson. GOVAC eventually became one of the largest arts organizations in the region. In 2009, owing to its success, the group expanded its mission to include creation of partnerships with business, governments, and communities throughoutSouthern Arizona that would encourage innovative, creative cultural expression in the arts for years to come.

For more information about programs and events produced by the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance, go to www.saaca.org.

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