MCPAC extends artistic boundaries

The Mineral County Performing Arts Council is just getting the 2010-2011 season performances underway. The group, which has been in existence for just over a few years, continues to extend musical and geographic boundaries.

About five years ago, when the Strand Theatre was originally put up for sale, it spurred the formation of the group.

“The concern was whether the theatre would be converted into something that wasn’t a performing space,” said Jim Goss, MCPAC treasurer. “There was a historical nature to it as well and there was some concern in the community about seeing if we could save it or not.”

At the time, the group’s resources weren’t there and by the time they got incorporated as a non-profit organization, the immediacy of the theatre being sold had gone away. The group, however, saw another need in the county.

“There was a need for the programming of cultural events in the town,” Goss said. “Originally, it was a way to earn money for a future space as well as bring something that was a little different to Mineral County.”

One of the reasons that Goss personally moved into Mineral County was that Missoula was close enough and offered plenty of cultural influences to give him and his wife several different things to do.

“Having the outlet was great,” Goss said, “and now with (MCPAC) we can bring some of that level of talent into the local area so people don’t necessarily have to drive all the way to Missoula when they want to go out and do something different.”

Goss said that by bringing in several different performances throughout the year, it allows the council to give people a different aspect and see where different artists come from.

“I suppose another goal was to kind of employ artists locally,” Goss said, “and supports some local artists.”

The first concert back in October featured a clarinet group from Missoula. Goss said that they had a great turnout for the concert.

“It was great and they gave a great performance,” Goss said. “Sometimes we get these groups that come out of the woodwork and we wonder if these guys are going to be any good and we’ve always been surprised. There hasn’t been an instance where we thought, ‘oh we better not have them back.’”

Artists who perform are generally selected by committees, though Goss admitted that the next two have sort of been his “brain child.”

Spencer Bohren is performing at 7:00 p.m. on November 11th at the Superior Baptist Church.  Also open to the public will be an educational program called “Down the Dirt Road Blues,” to be held at the Superior High School multi-purpose room at 1:00 p.m. on November 12th. With the integrated workshop, Goss said he believes it will be a great educational tool.

“The Spencer Bohren concert had to do with getting an artist that met the terms of the grant,” Goss said. “And it had to have that educational aspect, which Bohren is very strong in.”

In January, Airmail Special will perform. The group is a quintet headed by David Horgan and they interpret Charlie Christian music.

“Christian is an old time electric guitarist who sort of popularized that medium. He actually performed with a sextet, where Horgan has a quintet, but they make it work,” Goss said.

Goss originally went to see another artist play in Missoula that he wanted to bring down to Superior, but when he heard Horgan, the performance, “knocked his socks off.” He wasn’t sure he’d be able to bring him down, but terms were worked out.

On March 20, the Ed Norton Big Band will perform and this show will serve as the only performance in which MCPAC will be charging admission as it serves as their fundraiser. Otherwise shows are usually free to the public, which Goss said is due to the fact that they have generous audience members.

“We’ve had extremely generous audience donations and so at this point, we don’t see the need to charge a ticket price,” Goss said. “The council in Sanders County charges around six dollars a performance and more if a well known artist is performing. We ask for donations at the door and we seem to be better off doing it that way.”

Goss said that he tries to tell people that even if they don’t think they will like a certain type of music they should still come check it out because it costs them nothing.

“What do you have to lose? It’s a night out and if you don’t like it, don’t contribute. I’d almost rather have a full house,” Goss said. “People complain there’s nothing to do and you don’t see them come out and they can’t say it’s too expensive.”

In May, Laura Loge will perform and the artist for June has not yet been selected. Goss said that they’d love to have more people come and noted that lately a few more from the younger crowd has been attending.

“We would love more of the younger crowd and not just young adults, but kids too,” Goss said, noting that maybe the crying babies aren’t the best, though they are certainly welcome if parents take them out. “I hope the Spencer Bohren concert gets us to another level that way as it will be a public performance in the schools with an emphasis of getting the kids involved and understanding the roots of blues music.”

Goss also said that anyone interested in volunteering with MCPAC is welcome as well as it is an all volunteer organization. He said that for himself he has enjoyed music and wants to share it with others.

“It’s to better the community through music,” Goss said. “I’m sure you’ve bumped into me on other organizations as well. I just feel I’ve been treated well in life and I want to give back.”

As for purchasing and securing a performance space, Goss said that is still one of the organizations long term goals. However, right now they aren’t in the position to do that. He said that right now they use the Superior Baptists Church, which he described as a “wonderful little hall.”

“There’s a feeling of intimacy there you can’t get any place in Missoula even,” Goss said. “But that is our long term goal, to secure a place. As for a short term goal, we want to bring different types of music and performances to Mineral County.”