Formal dedication held Sunday, January 26 in their honor

The formal naming of the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center performance space took place on Sunday January 26. The theatre space was renamed “The Perry and Sandy Massie Foundation Theatre.”

 “It was a surprise,” Perry Massie said of the honor. “We’re just normal people. We’ve just had a lot of success in our lifetimes. We feel if you can pay back the community you live in, it’s a good thing.”

Perry Massie founded cable television’s Outdoor Channel in 1984 and became its director of operations. When his family moved to Prescott in 2004, they invested “heavily in mentoring and education.” Perry said. “

They were the driving forces behind Education Now! the Yavapai College scholarship program that makes higher education accessible for an estimated 25 students each year.  They are among the Founders of the YC Southwest Wine Center.

They are the largest contributors to the “Education Now” endowed scholarship fund and are Foundation Legacy League members. They established a legacy gift commitment of $2,000,000.

Perry served as president of the Yavapai College Foundation from 2015 to 2018. Last year, he and eight other community leaders were awarded the title of Board Member Emeritus by the Foundation.

According to the College, the theatre” is now home to YCPAC’s 25-show season, as well as touring shows and satellite broadcasts, drawing an estimated 75,000 viewers every year.

ABBA, Texas Tenors, Chicago among 12 major productions/shows scheduled for spring

Is this an opportunity for the Community College to partner its performing arts facility with these groups and possibly the  City? Or does it mean much more competition in the future if there are six performance  theaters in the same area?

Based on a recent story in the Prescott Courier, there are groups in Prescott who are looking to find funds to develop two new performing arts centers in that City. 

Hendrix auditorium. One facility and the largest under consideration is the historic Hendrix Auditorium at Mile High Middle School. It was originally created as a theater space for then high-school students families and community members.  Today, the 900-seat venue remains mostly idle.

A group connected with The Raven Café  are seeking to make the school theater a “destination” spot by booking national touring groups that will have broad audience appeal. Their intention would then be to devote a portion of the proceeds to enriching the Prescott Unified School District’s performing and fine art programs.

Ruth Street Theater. The Hendrix proposal comes at the same time another group of community leaders are  seeking to utilize and refurbish the more modern Ruth Street Theater at Prescott High School as an affordable venue for “choral groups, jazz bands, dance troupes or theatrical productions.”

Both groups are described as “super genuine” and committed to benefiting the students of today and tomorrow. They claim that “they are thinking of kids before thinking of anything else.”

Elks theater. There are already three performing arts theaters operating in Prescott.  In addition to the Community College’s facility, Prescott has the Prescott Elks Theater and Performing Arts Center that seats  over 500 persons. It was completed in 1905 and listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

Prescott Center for the Arts. There is also the much smaller Prescott Center for the Arts, which is located in an old church.  It features community productions of popular plays and musicals.

Prescott Valley Performing Arts, Inc. In Prescott Valley, fundraising is under way to open and operate the  Prescott Valley Performing Arts, Inc. According to its website, it will  provide opportunities for area residents, of all ages, to participate in the creative process of live theater and to enjoy the artistic, social and educational benefits of this art form. 

With all the interest in creating new theater venues, is it possible the Community College could partner with some of the interested groups? Or, if they all get going, what does the future hold for the College’s Performing Arts Center?

Friday | December 20 2019 | 7:30 PM  (dinner can be ordered)

The Yavapai Community College Performing Arts Center will close out a busy December with  an American singer-song writer,  Storm Large.  The College describes Storm Large as “a multi-talented force . . . a  smoky club songstress-turned-national-sensation.”

Photo from her web site: https://stormlarge.com/.

On her web site she says that “ She shot to national prominence in 2006 as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova, where despite having been eliminated in the week before the finale, Storm built a fan base that follows her around the world to this day.”

According to her press kit,  “Highlights of the 17-18 season include debuts with the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Vancouver, Jacksonville, and RTÉ National Symphonies, as well as return engagements with the Houston, Toronto, and Toledo Symphonies. Storm and her band, Le Bonheur, continue to tour concert halls across the country. The 16-17 season included debuts with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and BBC Symphony Orchestras, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, as well as return engagements with National Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.”

It goes on to say that “Recent highlights include engagements with the New York Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, and the Knights, as well as performances at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. She joined Michael Feinstein as special guest on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Popular Song series, as well as with Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, and the Pasadena Pops.”

Wikipedia reports that she was born  June 25, 1969 (age 50 years), Southborough, MA.  She sings with the music group: Pink Martini (Since 2011).

More than 100 performers, designers, crew members, and community volunteers, as well as a live 29-piece orchestra in its most ambitious effort so far

Yavapai Community College’s Performing Arts Department will present  Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera on the Prescott Campus at the Performing Arts Center November 14-24.   The production is under the direction of Dr. Craig Ralston and features the combined efforts and artistry of more than 100 performers, designers, crew members, and community volunteers, as well as a live 29-piece orchestra comprised almost entirely of professional musicians from Northern Arizona.

College schedules seven programs in East region (Verde Valley): Six are free, one has ticket fee of $25

The disparity between the East and West regions when it comes to Yavapai Community College presenting Arts and Cultural programs is huge. Take for example, the fall 2019 programs that have been publicly announced by the Community College for 2019. The schedule for the West region shows that the college will present 37 major concerts and plays from August through December 2019. It will bring to Prescott such national celebrities as Clint Black and Louis Anderson. It will showcase the London theater live, Prescott Pops and many others. Dinner is offered at the Center before several of these programs.

It will also showcase the Yavapai College Performing Arts Department with 13 concerts on the west side of the County. That leaves 24 major non-college related events during this period (August thru December). 

On the Verde Valley side of the County, the Community College has scheduled seven programs, six of which are free. The only program that is shared with the West region is the Matt Baker and the trio program. Otherwise, the cultural programs for residents are limited to receptions, lectures, and a single outdoor theater presentation.

Purchase of six performance tickets from 25 offerings saves 15%; Director’s choice saves 20%

The Yavapai Community College Performing Arts Center is offering a 15% discount if you purchase six tickets from the 25 shows that are coming to the  Performing Arts Center on the Prescott Campus during the 2019-2 season. The specials will be offered beginning Monday, July 1.

If you choose a Director’s Choice package you can save 20%.  You can begin purchasing either package beginning Monday, July 1.

Will feature five Sunday concerts at 3:00 PM in the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center

The Prescott POPS Symphony has announced its 2019-2020 season.  If features five Sunday concerts at 3:00 PM in the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center. Season tickets at $100 will be available until the first concert on July 7, 2019: Youth (under 18) season tickets are $20. Reserved seating: $25 Adult, $5 Youth. ADA seating is only available through the Ticket Office: (928) 776-2000.

CONCERT SCHEDULE:

July 7, 2019 – “The Music of America” 

Continuing the theme of our Independence Day holiday, POPS will open the season with a celebration of truly American music and a walk down memory lane with such hits as “Stardust,” “Lazy River” and “Georgia On My Mind,” favorites by Irving Berlin, and selections from Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs featuring your favorite vocal artists and lots more.

July 28, 2019 – “Magical Tour of the Movies”

The ever popular POPS Chorus along with many of your favorite soloists join the orchestra under the direction of Maestro Darrell Rowader to bring you an awe inspiring selection of themes from major motion pictures. Elmer Bernstein’s “To Kill A Mockingbird Suite” plus selections by Henry Mancini and Andrew Lloyd Webber headline an all star production.

September 15, 2019 – “Pops, People, Places”

Climb aboard the POPS magic carpet for a tour of some of the world’s most exotic destinations with such selections as “Vienna, City of My Deams,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “Belle of New York” and the unique experience of Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Symphony No. 2 (“London”).

December 8, 2019 – “Holiday Dreams and Traditions”  

The entire POPS musical family of instrumentalists, chorus, soloists and dancers comes together to present a spectacular program of the music of the holiday season. You will hear the traditional favorites with perhaps some different arrangements as well as some beautiful pieces that are heard less frequently. “Dreams of Fireflies” is a rousing romp based on the fourth movement of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  An old English carol, “See, Amid the Winter’s Snow” is an experience in lyric splendor that will surely brighten your holiday.

February 16, 2020 – “Love and Laughter”  

For its final concert of the season, the POPS draws on its musical versatility to underscore the mood of Valentine’s Day celebrants with the lively “Humoresque” by Antonin Dvorak, and Martini’s “Plasird’Amour” to be countered by the sultry sounds of “My Funny Valentine” plus some old and new favorites.