By Susan Elise Campbell
The Park Theater Foundation has rolled out some educational initiatives and a free outdoor summer concert series.
According to Chris Ristau, executive director of the nonprofit group, “This is what we are all about, bringing quality entertainment to the community and education programs to our schools.”
Before COVID, performances were held only within the four walls of the historic theater. The first summer series concerts, in July of 2021, produced at the Crandall Park band shell was “for us like an introduction to the community as a nonprofit,” Ristau said.
The application as a 501(c)3 organization had been approved and the paperwork received in mid-February of 2020, just weeks before the pandemic shuttered public venues like the Park Theater. When invitations to performances and educational programs were halted and the schools closed down, Ristau found new ways to collaborate. The outdoor concerts highlight regional music of the same genres that had been performed indoors at the theater.
One of the missions of the foundation is “providing opportunities for members of the community in the performing arts to grow and develop their skills and self-confidence,” he said.
The series thus enabled them to fulfill their mission “when the weather got he said, players could come to the band shell “who were too big or too loud to perform in our indoor venue.”
The first two years of their Summer Series Concerts, free to the public, were fully funded by state and local sources as well as individual and company donors. Meanwhile, Ristau is gearing up programming and soliciting sponsors for the remainder of the season, in addition to the upcoming summer concerts and 2023-2024 season, he said.
The foundation has also expanded their seasonal programming to further showcase local artists. They recently launched an extension of their Live & Local series with a songwriter’s showcase. This is an intimate artist-in-the-round evening Capital Region songwriters.
“It’s very important to get word out who these local artists are and to hear from them what they are about,” he said. “This showcase gives the artist a platform to speak about their motives and the stories behind their work. As a fledgling organization, branching out and having the funding gives us courage to foray into unprecedented areas of performance and education.”
New educational initiatives are underway for the spring and Ristau extends appreciation to two specific grant funders. One is the Glens Falls Foundation, which is fully funding the Glens Falls school district program “from busses and food to performers and administrative time,” he said. The other is the Charles R. Wood Foundation for funding current initiatives with the Lake George schools.
Ristau said that by getting to know administrators and educators in the Glens Falls, Queensbury and Lake George school systems, he can design programs that complement what the schools already have in music, science, history and technology. He previously worked at Glens Falls Music Academy in the recording studio and also gave private lessons, and these connections taught him the music education styles of the area’s public schools.
As part of the education initiatives, the foundation has plans to bus students to the Park Theater during an afternoon to see a concert from start to finish. Over the following weeks, different aspects will be broken down and discussed at length as part of the curriculum, Ristau said.
“The musicians will talk about their instruments and what inspires them,” he said. “And sound and lighting managers will talk about how they manipulate sound and light, and show the effect on performances.”
Also new for the organization and its executive director is the Park Theater Foundation’s own podcast, “The Park Presents,” with Ristau as host.
“We are providing yet another forum to talk about who these artists are,” one that can be listened to over and again on Anchor, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, he said.
Concerts will be held at Crandall Park every Friday from June 30 to July 28 at 7 p.m.
To make a donation and to learn more, visit parktheatergf.com or search on Facebook and Instagram.