“We are going to tie more closely to the university than it has been,” said Lisa Honaker, Stockton’s dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. “We are reorienting to make it more inclusive and interdisciplinary.”
Performances may also include talks or exhibits, Honaker said.
For instance, a U.N. Conference on refugees will be held in October at Stockton and will include a virtual dance performance, talks and exhibits, and the debut of a new exhibit by the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton.
Honaker is promising a more diverse lineup of shows that will be attractive to Black and Latino citizens of the area. Stockton has an Atlantic City campus, and the resort is 35% Black and 14.8% Latino, according to census data.
Honaker mentioned the possibility of booking “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” which is a musical tribute to the early 20th century work of jazz pianist and composer Fats Waller.
For the upcoming academic year, the PAC is trying to book the Sons of Mystro, two 20-something, South Florida brothers who use their violins to interpret reggae classics, American pop songs and their own tunes, accompanied by a drummer and a DJ.
A Battle of the Bands competition will start in September, giving local and regional groups the chance for public exposure and give the public a chance to hear local talent, Honaker said.
Partnerships with regional and local choral, dance and theater companies will provide opportunities for artists to create and perform and students to learn, Honaker said.
New outreach programs will feature children’s programming, international programs, more virtual programming and outreach to area schools. A summer performing arts camp is under consideration for next summer, Honaker said.
Because the PAC was closed for most of last year, Stockton had to return money to the state, but the university received an $85,000 federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant to help fund the upcoming season and is applying for state grants going forward, Honaker said.
“We want to make it holistic. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of work. It’s been exciting to reimagine,” Honaker said.
The Bay Atlantic Symphony has had a relationship with the PAC since the 1990s, which has included being the orchestra in residence with as many as seven concerts during an academic year.
Bay Atlantic Symphony Musical Director Jed Gavlin said the number of shows will stay the same or increase slightly.
The first Bay Atlantic Symphony show has been scheduled for Oct. 31 and will feature a performance of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.” The concert will also showcase “An Elegy: A Cry From The Grave” by Black composer Carlos Simon.
The Bay Atlantic Symphony will also offer more diversity with the music of the composers they will perform and with their guest artists, Gaylin said.
Cristina Valdes is a classically-trained pianist of Cuban descent will perform with the symphony in January, and pianist Terrence Wilson, a Grammy-nominated, Bronx, New York, native, will play with the symphony during the upcoming academic year at the university, Gaylin said.
The orchestra will reflect the diversity and help shape the diversity that the university wants to showcase, Gaylin said. The internet has made offering a program with more fullness and depth easier, he said.
“It’s a very different approach from the entertainment that you find in Atlantic City,” Gaylin said.
A new ticketing system is being purchased and implemented, and a new logo and website are being designed for the PAC, Honaker said. Information on performances will be posted on the PAC website in late summer.
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