PROJECTS & IMPACT
Bringing People Together Around Ideas That Matter

Some people produce events. Adrian Luces has always been more interested in creating reasons for people to come together. Throughout his career, Adrian has conceived, produced and helped lead projects bringing together artists, entertainers, business leaders, philanthropists, volunteers and communities around a common purpose. Sometimes that purpose has been to raise money. Sometimes it has been to celebrate. Sometimes it has been to tell a story, support a community or respond when people needed help. But the starting point has often been remarkably simple: An idea. A phone call. And the belief that together, people can make something happen.

BACKFORTMAC

An Idea Becomes a National Response

In May 2016, Adrian watched the devastating images coming out of Fort McMurray as wildfires forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Like millions of Canadians, he was deeply affected by what he saw. But Adrian’s instinct was not simply to watch. It was to act. He called his longtime friend and collaborator Patti Jannetta and said: “We need to do a concert for Fort McMurray.” From that initial idea came #BackFortMac.

Adrian began reaching out to friends and colleagues, and an extraordinary group of people quickly came together. Within less than four weeks, a major benefit concert was assembled at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall. Hosted by Arlene Dickinson, Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath, the evening brought together an exceptional group of Canadian performers including Jim Cuddy, Measha Brueggergosman, Alan Frew, Jackie Richardson, John McDermott, Matt Dusk, Sophie Milman, Liona Boyd, The Lovelocks, The Devin Cuddy Band and Kayla Diamond, supported by musical director Mark Camilleri and a 21-piece orchestra and band.

Through the magic help of Eileen Greene and others, the event raised approximately $250,000 for the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal.

For Adrian, however, #BackFortMac demonstrated something beyond the amount raised. It demonstrated what can happen when someone is willing to say:
“We should do something.” And other people answer: “Let’s do it.”

MUSIC MAKES MIRACLES
That same philosophy led Adrian and Patti Jannetta to co-found Music Makes Miracles, built upon their shared belief that music and creativity can become powerful forces for generosity and social change. Over many years, Adrian has worked with artists, producers, organizations and volunteers to use entertainment not simply as performance, but as a way of bringing people together in support of something larger than themselves.

HEALING HANDS, CHANGING LIVES: Music With Purpose
In support of the SickKids Foundation Herbie Fund, Adrian, Patti Jannetta and Danny Turco wrote Healing Hands, Changing Lives. Adrian and Patti served as Executive Producers, bringing together 18 Canadian entertainers to record and perform the song in support of the Fund’s work helping children from around the world receive life-changing medical treatment. The project reflected an idea that has appeared repeatedly throughout Adrian’s career:
Creativity can entertain, but it can also serve. For his contributions to the Herbie Fund, Adrian has been recognized as one of its distinguished Luminaires.

A GIFT OF MUSIC
In 2007, Adrian served as Co-Executive Producer of A Gift of Music, a fundraising concert for Toronto’s St. Michael’s Choir School. Held at Roy Thomson Hall, the concert featured performances by Barenaked Ladies, Matt Dusk, John McDermott, Michael Burgess and Stewart Goodyear, among others.
The evening raised more than $300,000 in support of the school that had played an important role in Adrian’s own musical beginnings.

CREATING THROUGH COLLABORATION
Other projects followed. Through Shadowlight Productions, Adrian produced a series of concerts supporting Parasport Ontario, helping raise more than $100,000 for the organization. For a decade, he worked alongside Patti Jannetta as Entertainment Co-Chair of the Mistletoe Ball supporting the SickKids Herbie Fund. In 2019, they produced Crescendo, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Regent Park School of Music. Later that month came Beyond Boundless, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the SickKids Herbie Fund and bringing together performers including Jim Cuddy, Three Days Grace, Jackie Richardson, Susan Aglukark, Sean Jones, Jordan John and Travis Knights.

Different organizations. Different artists. Different audiences. But the philosophy remained the same:
Bring good people together around a good idea, and extraordinary things can happen.

SUPPORTING CANADA’S CREATIVE COMMUNITY
From Producing Events to Building Community

Today, Adrian’s work as a connector has evolved beyond individual concerts and fundraising events. As Executive Director of Supporting Cast Canada, formerly PAL Canada Foundation, Adrian leads a national charitable organization focused on alleviating isolation and strengthening connection among senior and disadvantaged members of Canada’s professional arts community. It is work that brings together many of the themes that have defined his life: creativity, communication, community and the belief that people thrive when they know they belong.

Supporting Cast Canada’s programs connect artists across generations and geography through in-person and virtual programming, storytelling, mentorship and opportunities for meaningful social connection. At the centre of this next chapter are two ambitious initiatives.

THE ARTWELL: A Place to Create, Connect and Belong
The Artwell is a gathering, exhibition and creative space in Toronto designed to bring artists and community together. It provides opportunities for visual artists to exhibit their work, performers and storytellers to share their craft, and artists from different generations to meet, collaborate and learn from one another. More than a gallery or performance space, The Artwell represents an idea Adrian believes deeply: Creative people never stop being creative simply because they grow older. They still need places to contribute.

Places to be heard … Places to belong.

CANADA STORIES
Preserving the Stories Behind Canada’s Cultural Legacy

Every generation inherits the work of the artists who came before it. But too often, the stories behind that work disappear. Canada Stories is an initiative being developed by Supporting Cast Canada to preserve, celebrate and share the experiences and creative legacies of the artists and cultural professionals who have helped shape Canada’s identity. Through filmed conversations, storytelling, exhibitions, performances and digital preservation, Canada Stories will help ensure that their experiences are not simply remembered, but shared with generations still to come. It is about more than nostalgia. It is about legacy, mentorship and understanding how Canada’s cultural story was built.

THE CONNECTOR
Looking across Adrian’s career, the projects themselves may seem remarkably different.

• A national disaster-relief concert.
• A song helping children receive medical care.
• A celebration of a music school’s legacy.
• Concerts supporting people with disabilities.
• A gathering place for senior artists.
• A national initiative preserving the stories of Canada’s creative community.

Yet Adrian sees a common thread running through all of them. People. Finding them. Connecting them. Listening to them. And sometimes simply making the first phone call.

Adrian has never believed that meaningful ideas need to begin with enormous organizations, enormous budgets or enormous plans. Sometimes they begin with one person thinking:

“What if we did this?” And finding others willing to answer: “Let’s make it happen.”

CREATE. CONNECT. MAKE AN IMPACT.
Adrian continues to develop and support projects at the intersection of creativity, communication, community and human connection. He welcomes conversations with artists, organizations, businesses, philanthropists and creative thinkers interested in collaborating on ideas that can make a difference.

HAVE AN IDEA? LET’S TALK.
CONTACT ADRIAN

Learn more at musicmakesmiracles.com