The Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s 2019 season was marked by a record number of SPAC premieres, programming that extended beyond the traditional summer months, and significant growth in its educational and community outreach efforts, officials said an October board or directors meeting.
The summer season culminated with the re-imagined Saratoga Wine and Food Festival, which connected the community and cultural organizations in support of SPAC’s educational programming.
The festival “united cultural organizations, local businesses and our community in a celebration of art, music, nature and locally-sourced foods, serving as the perfect punctuation mark to our summer season,” said Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC president and CEO. “As we look ahead, we will continue to create meaningful experiences through innovative programming, educational outreach and new year-round offerings.”
At the fall board meeting, Sobol reported that the 2019 season, from an artistic standpoint, was one of SPAC’s most successful and innovative seasons. The summer featured a record number of SPAC premieres, which received critical acclaim from both national and regional press and audiences.
She said along with the artistic success, there were cancellations due to artist illnesses, dangerous heat that resulted in a cancellation of New York City Ballet’s matinee performance, and visa denials that prohibited YAMATO: The Drummers of Japan from touring, significantly impacted the bottom line.
“Nevertheless, due to strong fundraising support and ticket sales, SPAC is still projected to finish the fiscal year in the black,” she said.
In 2019, SPAC’s free education programs reached more than 49,000 young individuals, offered more than 400 classes, presentations, performances, and events, and partnered with more than 120 schools and non-profit organizations across the greater Capital Region, she said. The 2019 education programs reached 10,000 more students than in 2018, visiting an additional 30 schools and nonprofit organizations, and holding 235 more classes and events.
SPAC also launched a new partnership with Double H Ranch to bring programs with National Dance Institute and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis to campers with life-threatening diseases.
“The astounding growth of our educational programming over the course of just four years was one of our most important accomplishments, giving thousands of children access to world class performances,” said Sobol. “Seeing the pure joy and exhilaration that the performers brought to the campers was a true testament to the power of music to transport and transform.”
Sobol cited SPAC’s partnership with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and the downtown business community to present its second annual Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Friday, which celebrated Saratoga as a world-class jazz city and promoted the region’s vibrant downtown.
Additional partnerships with the City of Saratoga Springs and NYRA promoted the city of Saratoga Springs as an international cultural destination through a national public relations campaign crafted to spur economic development. A new multi-media marketing campaign, made possible by a $195,000 Market NY grant, is slated to launch in 2020 in partnership with Skidmore College, Opera Saratoga, Caffè Lena and the National Museum of Dance, in addition to the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau, Saratoga Springs City Center Authority and the City of Saratoga Springs.
SPAC once again partnered with several local artistic organizations in 2019. Sobol said SPAC collaborated with Radial Arts, formerly known as SaratogaArtsFest, and Saratoga Shakespeare Company to present “Poetry in the Pines” in July.
More information about SPAC and upcoming events can be found online at SPAC.org.
