UMaine students to perform Broadway’s best

Ben McNaboe wants performers to be inspired and audiences to be amazed.

So the University of Maine graduate student in music education has organized “Astonishing! The Songs and Stories of Broadway’s Best,” to be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine.

A 50-member student, faculty and alumni orchestra, as well as 30-plus vocalists, will perform inspirational selections from Broadway musicals old and new at the 3rd Annual School of Performing Arts (SPA) Fundraiser Pops Concert.

Money raised will help the SPA continue to provide high-quality experiences for students seeking to become educators and professional performers as well as increase outreach initiatives throughout the state and region.

McNaboe, music director and conductor of the concert, enjoys watching the reactions of UMaine students, including vocalists singing for the first time in front of a powerful orchestra and new performers who cause an audience leap to its feet to cheer.

McNaboe also says it’s imperative to show UMaine students and high school students statewide that it’s possible to earn a living as a professional performer.

UMaine student soloist Kayla Gayton of Sabattus, agrees.

“It’s important so students can see what they could accomplish with hard work. It gives students something to aspire to,” says the second-year music education major.

Enter featured guest artist Stephanie Burkett Gerson.

The California native tours with Disney in Concert and USO Show Troupe and has been in theater productions of “Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She also is a member of the renowned Broadway Inspirational Voices and has a solo debut album titled “Once Upon A Time.”

In addition to performing in concert, Gerson will share her expertise with young performers at four Maine high schools and with UMaine musical theatre students during her visit.

Bringing in guest artists to provide varied learning experiences was one of several goals McNaboe had in mind when he conceived this event several years ago.

He was a junior when he brought together SPA students to showcase their talents for the inaugural fundraising concert that celebrated the classics of Rodgers & Hammerstein.

“I kind of wanted to shake things up,” he says of that first concert in Hauck Auditorium. “It was a bonding experience; it created a community experience for the school.”

And for community members as well.

Retired physician Fredrica Smith played for the 2014 fundraiser soon after she and her husband, Paul Smith moved to Orono from New Mexico, where she was in private practice for 37 years.

Smith, who calls McNaboe a wonderful ambassador for SPA, says she’s looking forward to participating in this year’s concert as well.

“This year the rehearsals are going well, and I expect this to be another excellent production,” says Smith, who plays string bass.

Smith says one reason she and her husband moved to Orono was that Dr. Anatole Wieck, director of orchestral studies, welcomes community members’ participation in the University Orchestra.

Smith says she and her husband, a UMaine alum and retired mechanical engineer, have been impressed with students they’ve met at the New Balance Student Recreation Center and in the music department.

“They are all delightful people as well as serious students in their fields,” she says. “With young folks like these, the world’s future looks bright.”

McNaboe has high praise for Smith and her contributions to the orchestra, as well. He says the wonderful musician is a “joy to be around in rehearsals and concerts and is eager to interact with and mentor undergrads who are playing alongside her.”

In addition to building community, that first concert raised about $9,000, which helped fund the University Singers’ annual spring tour and was used to buy a new digital piano that ensembles take with them for off-campus community performances.

The Collins Center for the Arts was the venue for last year’s second annual production — “150 Years of American Song: A Celebration of the University of Maine.” UMaine alum Merritt David Janes, ’04, who was then on a national Broadway tour of “The Phantom of the Opera,” was the featured guest artist.

The second concert cleared about $8,000 and, in addition to helping finance the Singers’ outreach tour, paid for a visiting choreographer and musician to each teach a Master Class on campus.

The emcees and hosts for this year’s event are Morgan Cates and Grace Livingston Kramer. Tickets are $25 general admission, $12 with a student MaineCard. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan 31.

Prior to the Saturday evening concert, a Friends of the Fundraiser reception with hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be held at 6 p.m. in the Hudson Museum at the CCA. Attendees’ names will be listed in the lobby and concert program. Cost is $35.

The public also is invited to a free Master Class taught by Gerson at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, in Minsky Recital Hall, Class of 1944 Hall.

A promotional video about the concert is available online.

Contact: Beth Staples, 207.581.3777