Samara Joy, multi-Grammy Award-winning vocalist, singing “What a Wonderful World” at the annual “Wonderful World” gala benefiting the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine.
The 18th annual “Wonderful World” gala benefiting the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, was a festive evening of jazz and expressions of gratitude to three honorees for making the world more wonderful through their contributions to music and music therapy.
The event, held Monday, October 23 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation and hosted by the Wonderful World Friends of Music Therapy Inc., honors the legacy of the Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy and the Department’s commitment to music therapy at Mount Sinai hospitals.
The evening recognizes a dynamic group of individuals chosen from a variety of fields including music and medicine, in addition to patients who have benefitted from receiving music therapy at Mount Sinai hospitals.
From left: Honorees Zoë Brecher, Manjeet Chadha MD, and Samara Joy.
This year’s honorees were Manjeet Chadha, MD, Director, Department of Radiation Oncology, Mount Sinai Downtown; Samara Joy, the multi-Grammy Award-winning vocalist, who was presented the Phoebe Jacobs Award by renowned jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis; and patient Zoë Brecher, a patient of the Louis Armstrong Center who is the drummer of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nightshift’ band.
The gala was hosted by Mercedes Ellington, dancer, choreographer, and granddaughter of Duke Ellington, and Bill Daughtry, the retired radio and TV host. The co-chairs were Robert Lande, President and Director at FXCM and Chief Financial Officer of Forex Capital Markets, and Kim Polson, from the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine’s Steering Committee.
The event featured an opening performance by Aneesa Folds from the Broadway production of Freestyle Love Supreme, with Dizzy Senze, Anabelle Luke, and David Bradshaw. Jazz ensued throughout the evening with saxophonist Erik Lawrence, Matthew Munisteri, jazz guitarist, and bass player Russell Hall who accompanied Samara Joy. Her voice, recalling the memory of Ella Fitzgerald, enraptured the more than 200 attendees with her rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”
Joanne V. Loewy, left, and Samara Joy.
Ricky Riccardi, archivist from the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, shared Louis Armstrong memorabilia. There was also Pop’s Food Court and a silent auction.
“This event highlights our commitment to music therapy, as the doctors, musicians, and patients who attend enjoy hearing about Louis’ love of music and people from all walks of life. This gala supports our care of patients and research—from neonatal care to oncology, Alzheimer’s disease, and psychiatry,” said Joanne V. Loewy, DA, LCAT, MT-BC, Founder and Director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, which offers music therapy services throughout the Mount Sinai Health System.
This year Dr. Loewy and the Loewy Lab received funding from the National Institute of Health for her study of how music therapy addresses chronic stress in Black pregnant women through metabolomic pathways, and she received additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to study how music influences depression across several disease cohorts.
The Department of Music Therapy, with support from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and other grants, provides a range of clinical services for infants, children, and adults, and day treatment at the Mount Sinai-Union Square clinic and within the community. Its music therapists are licensed and board certified to provide care that complements medical treatment, assisting with sedation, pain management, and neurologic and respiratory function.