Friday, June 26, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Tom Ayres
207.773.3150 – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Meet Portland Ovations -
the New Name for a Cultural Organization That Has Connected Our Community with the Performing Arts for Nearly 80 Years
PORTLAND – One of Maine’s oldest and most wide-ranging arts organizations has a new name that reflects its increasing impact and ever-expanding role in the cultural fabric of southern Maine.
PCA Great Performances – the non-profit performing arts association founded by the city of Portland at the height of the Great Depression in 1931 – is now Portland Ovations. The 78-year-old arts organization, which has brought Maine the world through more than 700 performances in music, theater, dance, opera, and Broadway over the last eight decades, unveiled the new name Monday night prior to a concert by pan-global musicians Pink Martini at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium.
New Name Honors Eight Decades of Community Connections, Heralds Even Brighter Future
The new moniker, Portland Ovations, reflects the natural evolution of the former Portland Concert Association (PCA) from a small, volunteer-run cultural association focused exclusively on classical music to a multi-genre performing arts and education organization with broad cultural, social, educational, and economic impact on the greater Portland area.
“An ovation is a joyous sign of appreciation and welcome, delivered when a live performance resonates with an audience,” said Portland Ovations Executive Director Aimée Petrin as she prepared to introduce the new organizational brand to the 1,300-plus audience attending the Pink Martini concert.
“For almost 80 years, our audiences have felt the singular connection that comes from attending live performances that excite, transform, and resonate,” Petrin added. “In recent times, we’ve increasingly taken those experiences out into the community, linking people with the performing arts and artists through outreach activities, school-time performances and programs, masterclasses, workshops and more. The name Portland Ovations honors that history of vibrant community connections and heralds our future. It’s the perfect way to communicate how we connect Maine audiences with artists and it recognizes our belief that the best is yet to come.”
A Legacy of Linking Artists and Audiences While Fueling the Regional Economy
Portland Ovations has a rich legacy of presenting great classical and popular artists, from Lily Pons and Nelson Eddy in its earliest days to Leopold Stokowski and the New York Philharmonic and Leontyne Price in the 1940s and 1950s to today’s great performances featuring Yo Yo Ma, the National Acrobats of China, Emmylou Harris, and hit Broadway musicals. In addition to live performances by these renowned artists, the non-profit organization also offers season-long educational and outreach programs called Ovations Offstage that touch thousands of additional lives in southern Maine each year.
As broad as the cultural and social impact of Portland Ovations on southern Maine may be, its effect on the regional economy is also substantial. Having prospered for nearly 80 years despite its founding in the tenuous midst of the Great Depression, Portland Ovations is weathering the recent financial crisis, not only surviving but thriving as more and more community members welcome our performances and programs into their lives. Portland Ovations’ programming and outreach activities provide major fuel for the greater Portland economic engine, with an estimated $750,000 in annual consumer spending by audience members above and beyond ticket sales and $1.25 million injected into the local economy annually through Portland Ovations productions and operations. In total, nearly $2 million in total monies move through the regional economy annually due to the organization’s operations, based on research on consumer spending done by Americans for the Arts and analysis of Portland Ovations’ annual budget.
“With the advent of Portland Ovations, we’re moving into the future from a position of strength and respect in the community,” Petrin offered. “We’re solidifying our role in the Maine arts community as well as in education, community outreach, and the social and economic well-being of our community. It’s a role we cherish and look forward to fulfilling for many, many years to come.”
Since 1931, Portland Ovations has brought high-quality performing artists to southern Maine, including classical and popular music, jazz, opera, dance, theater, and Broadway performances. In addition to live performances, we bring the exhilaration of the performing arts out into our community through educational and outreach programs called Ovations Offstage. Formerly known as the PCA Great Performances, we are a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing Maine the world.
