Roanoke City Schools is losing its fine arts coordinator for the past three years, but as a result Jefferson Center will gain an executive director, when Cyrus Pace makes that transition on October 1. The Jefferson Center is home to Shaftman Performance Hall, the smaller rehearsal hall space, the Music Lab for students and non-profits including the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Opera Roanoke.
A veteran musician himself who often plays with his brother James, Pace joined the Navy to earn money for college and played in the Navy band while in the service. He then earned a B.A. in sociology from Roanoke College and a master’s in music at Manhattan College. Mainly a guitarist, he owned a music store in the valley and has lectured at Virginia Tech and Roanoke College.
Keeping the privately and publicly supported Jefferson Center solvent is first and foremost; Pace is pleased to say that “the net impact on the community in the midst of the recession has been zero. The programming hasn’t diminished, the educational opportunities haven’t diminished. If anything, they’ve increased with the addition of the Music Lab. That is a home run.”
Pace sees his new role as lending “consistent leadership” to the Jefferson Center operations. He wants people “to think of the Jefferson Center in terms of its long term impact on the community. What does Jefferson Center say about Roanoke City? … the fact that we have a space like that. It’s a gem that it’s here – an incredible gift.” He calls the Jefferson Center “a celebration of the spirit of great art. I’m super excited.”
Pace likes that jazz legend Wynton Marsalis took part in an outreach program before a Jefferson Center concert last year, fielding questions from 250 local students, or the 850 kids who listened to jazz from Christian McBride. He will continue to act as a liaison to Roanoke City Schools, making sure “they still have access to these performers.”
Dylan Locke will continue to program musical offerings and recently announced the 2010-2011 season. Patrons “can count on it,” said Pace, meaning that they will often attend a show even if they know little about the artist, because they trust Locke’s judgment.
The new season features the Star City, Jazz and Family series; highlights include Chick Corea, Mavis Staples, Victor Wooten, Del McCoury and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Emmylou Harris, Hot Tuna and Esperanza Spalding. About half of the seats for the Star City series are already sold on a season ticket basis, before single event tickets go on sale August 23. Pace says the Jazz Series offers quality performances that will rival those of performers scheduled in much larger cities.
“I think it’s a treasure – and on top of that I think I can engineer the right type of support for Jefferson Center,” said Pace of his new role. “The Jefferson Center is incredibly relevant right now, as we try to build this idea that Roanoke is an arts city. ”
By Gene Marrano [email protected]