News Update

POSTED: Friday, Jul. 24, 2009

WWU suspends Performing Arts Center Series

BELLINGHAM -Western Washington University suspended its Performing Arts Center Series for at least two years Friday, July 24, because of budget cuts.

The PAC Series began in its current state in 1991, bringing dancers, musicians and singers to Western's campus, including Philip Glass, Quartet San Francisco and The Chieftains. The performances would take place from four to 12 times a year depending on the budget.

The university's recent budget cuts caused the College of Fine and Performing Arts to choose what it could keep and what it could give up.

"It's something we looked at once we started to realize we were going to be making significant cuts in our operating budget," said Courtney Hiatt, who managed the series. "Obviously, we kept our priority at the academic level. The PAC Series is something we do as a community outreach effort, but it's not directly linked with our academic programming."

No jobs will be lost as a result of the series suspension. Hiatt will instead focus on special events and arts education outreach, which includes master classes, college students performing at local schools and students coming to Western for performances.

The series as it is now will not return for at least two years, Hiatt said, but she hopes that performers can still be brought to Western in some capacity. The college will continue its Sanford Piano Series.

"We don't want to see it go away entirely by any means. We feel very strongly about that," she said of the series. "We really want to emphasize that this is not us saying we're not going to offer anything anymore. We just need to re-evaluate what we're offering."

One of Hiatt's favorite memories in her three years as series manager was the Anoushka Shankar concert in 2007.

"It was our first sold-out house since I came in," she said of the World Music concert by the daughter of Ravi Shankar. "There was such an energy in the crowd; people were dancing along. It was wonderful and very rewarding to bring something like that into the community and experience artistry of that caliber."

It's a level of artistry that will be missed by many. Mary Passmore, a cellist and volunteer grant coordinator for the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, said she understands the budget pressure arts organizations are under, but she's disappointed to see the series go.

"I have attended some of the concerts and performances they've had up there," Passmore said. "I'll miss those. I'll miss the opportunity to see the kind of diversity they bring into the community. It's just always sad to see something come to an end, and that (series has) been going on for a very long time. It's a big loss for the community."