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I recently read with great interest a proposal to the Longmont City Council
for a local performing arts center. The proposal was made by the Longmont
Performing Arts Initiative (LPAI), a consortium of performing arts
organizations located in Longmont (http://www.longmontperforms.org).Bob
Balsman, president of the Longmont Chorale, Judith Watson, member of the
Longmont Symphony Board of Directors, and Elliot Moore, director of the
symphony, spoke to the council.
Balsman summed up the proposal by pointing out that “there is currently no
suitable venue in Longmont for regularly attracting regionally and
nationally known talent. Such a venue could greatly benefit the community
financially as well as . . . be a source of pride for the community.” (Read
the entire presentation at http://www.longmontperforms.org/lpai-to-city-council-literally-put-the-arts-on-the-map-in-longmont/)
I would like to add my voice in support of this proposal. Since arriving in
Longmont in 2011, I have joined the Longmont performing arts community by
playing with the Longmont Concert Band, which I served as Board president
for four years and as interim director for six months. I am also a music
journalist with Boulder Weekly and blogger at sharpsandflatirons.com, in
which capacity I have come to know classical musical artists and
organizations in Longmont and Boulder.
Before coming to Colorado I was for 23 years the media representative for
the performing arts at the University of Iowa, where a new $176-million
performance facility was recently opened. Based on my years of experience
in the performing arts I agree completely with Moore’s assertion to the
council that a first-class performance facility “is absolutely necessary to
meet the needs of the thriving performing arts community in Longmont. . . .
The time to act is now.”
To Balsman’s and Moore’s comments, I would like to add two points of my own:
1. Such a facility would have benefits well beyond Longmont. Currently,
Boulder does not have a single performance facility that combines excellent
acoustics, attractive front-of-house amenities (lobby, rest rooms, food
service) and ample parking. Although it is small, Stewart Auditorium at the
Longmont Museum has all three, which why it is already attracting
performing groups and audiences from Boulder. A venue large enough for
full-sized ensembles and theatrical productions would become a center for
the entire region, from Denver to Ft. Collins. It would attract performers
and audiences from that area and beyond, which would greatly benefit
Longmont’s economy.
Since this proposal was made, I have already spoken with representatives of
major performing organizations in Boulder who have expressed interest in
making use of a performance venue in Longmont. The potential of becoming a
center for the front-range area is real, but the opportunity will not be
there forever—which is my second point:
2. Now is the time to undertake this project. As we all can see every day,
Longmont is growing rapidly. With the new arrivals, a great deal of money
is coming into the community. A performing arts center would not only give
the new arrivals a sense of pride in their home town, it would give them an
institution to support with financial gifts and energy. Boulder has a
motivated population, but their support is splintered across many artistic,
socio-political and environmental groups and causes. Established patterns
of giving are very hard to break, which has made efforts to build new
facilities in Boulder flounder.
Right now, the window is open for Longmont to give the long-time Longmont
arts community and the new arrivals a major project to which they can give
their support and loyalty. One of the things I learned in Iowa is what is
possible when an arts institution has support across generations, economic
levels and a wide geographic area. In that regard, Iowa’s Hancher
Auditorium is a model to be emulated. Iowa has a largely rural economy and
diffuse population, and yet, that multi-million dollar auditorium stands
there today, demonstrating what is possible when so many people want to be
associated with your organization. If a Longmont performing arts center can
earn similar loyalty from the people of our community, bringing together
longtime residents and new arrivals, it will pay off for generations into
the future.
Peter Alexander
University of Iowa (retired), Freelance music journalist and blogger
Longmont, CO 80504
This is an opinion piece that was submitted to the Longmont Observer and does not necessarily represent the opinion of the Longmont Observer. If you have an opinion piece you'd like published, please visit our 'Submit an Opinion' page.
