MCA’s future

I read with great interest the article about the Maine Center for the Arts. As the founding executive director, I, too, hope the administration and the community support efforts to renovate and update the center’s technical capabilities.

In 1986-89, we raised more than $300,000 in corporate sponsorships and alumni class gifts to support the quality programming. Any deficits that were charged to the program account were from construction change orders in sound and lighting for the stage. Then President Arthur Johnson authorized those changes to allow us to present the incredible array of artists over the next several years. The center’s programs realized a profit, on direct expenses for three of the four years of my tenure.

I was proud to present some of the world’s greatest artists that appealed to the faculty, students and the community audiences. It was thrilling to host Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger, Yo Yo Ma, the Czech Philharmonic, Garth Fagan, Philip Glass, Bill T. Jones, Bobby McFerrin, Mel Torme, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Rudolf Nureyev, Leontyne Price, Greg Allman, Pat Metheney, Michael Hedges, Trish Brown, Marcel Marceau, Ella Fitzgerald, and so many others over the years.

We also presented successful summer programs that featured Jay Leno, Chet Atkins, Asleep at the Wheel, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Bob Newhart, Judy Tenuta, and many others. With the proper programming and effective marketing, the summers became profit centers.

I hope the Maine economy improves and the quantity and quality of the center’s programs are restored. Only with the generous support of many individuals, alumni, and Maine companies were we able to achieve the success in the early years. It is only with honest cooperation, collaboration and communications that the center may successfully move into the future. Joel D. Katz Coral Springs, Fla.