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ESCAPADES has its roots in a somewhat strange story ... A person we know told one day that the last marking musical event in the life of his father was a concert by the pianist Sergei Kasprov, during KlaraFestival in 2009. The first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, manifested itself shortly after this concert. For the anniversary of the music lover, after carrying the disease for 3 years, the family decided to offer him the same concert. A grand piano was lifted and rolled into their house; Sergei Kasprov flew in from Moscow, and a large group of family and friends gathered around the piano. When the old man entered the scene, he was clearly "absent". But as he was hearing the music, his spirit seemed to be awakened and lucidity returned. After the concert, he could appoint every guest by name again. This anecdote illustrates the liberating force and the positive impact that high-level music can have. That observation is the reason for starting ESCAPADES at MUSIC PROJECTS FOR BRUSSELS: organizing concerts for people who do not really choose where and under what conditions they live. Initially, these concerts were not tailored for or curated by them, but ESCAPADES rather tried to bring the best of the music scene, a series of concerts that would not look out of place in any concert hall.

Besides a gripping musical experience, the goal of ESCAPADES is to present both audience and musicians a door towards fresh air, an eventual new perspective. However, the association is from the start deeply committed to work in places where our presence is wished for by the audience, and where people are supposed to be socially reintegrated, thus returning to society. We have chosen not to work in centres for people with dementia, palliative care, and/or detention centres for refugees, but to enhance and strengthen the capabilities and resources in rehabilitation centres where it appears possible and desirable.

This musical-social reasoning led to over twenty concerts. A surprising observation was that the audience,  previously for the most part unaware of the existence of Bach or Mozart, never had a problem with the "cultural music." Almost always it was a lack of authenticity of the music and / or musician who influenced the concentration and interest. To our surprise we had for example a standing ovation given to the Grand Duet of Galina Ustvolskaja. It was clear that the concerts had a significant positive impact on the public. However, this effect is not permanent. A "parachute-dropped-concert" as we did, has the same effect as a massage: one feels good, but it is usually not sufficient for solving a problem situation. We decided to take a different path from a new angle.