‘Music at Market’ to help raise funds for festival trip

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With a new name and a different location, the SAD 1 Music Boosters Club is hoping to draw people to Riverside Park tomorrow for an evening of music, food and fun.
For the last several years, the Music Boosters have sponsored “Music at Mantle,” a fund-raising event at Mantle Lake Park that showcases the talent of local middle- and high-school student singers and musicians. However, tomorrow’s effort — Music at Market — will be at Riverside Park, site of the Riverside Public Market.
“We wanted to ‘mix it up’ a bit and switch venues,” said Dan Schneider, music director for SAD 1. “We’ve scheduled it during suppertime on Thursday night to hopefully attract those who may normally have weekend plans causing them not to attend. We hope to attract townspeople along with the parents and relatives of the musicians … hopefully we’ll have a good turnout!”
“The change of location is basically to take advantage of the farmers’ market that happens on Thursday night at Riverside Park. We’re not sure it will increase attendance. We just thought we’d try it there knowing that there would be a built-in audience at the farmers’ market,” said Jay Nelson, SAD 1 vocal music director. “Previously we held this event on a Saturday and we found that we would have numerous sports conflicts. We thought we’d try a different approach this year to see how it goes.”
Music at Market will be held Sept. 11 from 4-6 p.m. The Riverside Public Market will be open from noon-6 p.m. both Thursday and Friday.
The fundraiser originally started in the early 1990s as Jazz at the Beach, which was held at the Aroostook State Park.
“We’ve done Rockin’ at Riverside, Tunes & Trails, which was at the Nordic Heritage Center, and then Music at Mantle a number of times,” said Schneider, noting that the last time the students performed at Riverside Park was in 2007.
Community members are invited to bring a lawn chair or a blanket, enjoy a meal and listen to music by some of the district’s most talented performers.
“Because the gazebo is not that large, we’ll probably utilize that space for the rhythm section, which includes bass, piano and drums,” Schneider said. “The rest of our singers and musicians will probably be located on the grass.”
Concessions, including hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, french fries, whoopie pies, soda and water, will be for sale at Music at Market. In addition, raffle tickets will be sold. Prizes include two winter sports season passes, four tickets to the high school’s fall musical, five $10 gift certificates to the school farm, and a $15 gift certificate to Governor’s Restaurant.
“This event raises money for the SAD 1 Music Boosters. This group sponsors things that are not budgeted through the school department,” said Nelson. “The Boosters pay for visiting artists, summer music camp ‘camperships,’ scholarships for graduating seniors pursuing a degree in music, and, of course, the 2016 Music Festival Trip to New York City. We definitely need to raise more money in order to make that trip a reality.”
The rough performance schedule for Thursday’s Music at Market features the Presque Isle High School Game (Pep) Band (4-4:20 p.m.), PIHS Jazz Band (4:30-4:45 p.m.), PIHS Chorus (4:55-5:15 p.m.), Presque Isle Middle School Jazz Band (5:20-5:40 p.m.) and PIHS Duo (5:45-6 p.m.).
Schneider encourages the community to come out and support the arts.
“I feel strongly that the SAD 1 Music Department and the community share a healthy, symbiotic relationship,” he said. “It is vital that our students give of themselves and share their talents with the community, and that the community — in turn — supports the arts.
“It is so exciting. My distinguished fellow directors and I feel blessed to be a part of this positive community, and work for a school system that believes in a well-rounded education for all students,” said Schneider, “so come one, come all and enjoy our first public performance of the season!”
In the event of rain, the concert will be cancelled.
For more information, email Schneider at Dan.Schneider@sad1.org.