Time to take inventory at NPAC

As we prepare to open the new Niswonger season this Saturday with Michael W. Smith, and as I take a look at upcoming concerts, it dawned on me that now would be a good time to take inventory of what concerts you want to make sure you attend.  I realize that many of you who read this column have probably made your choices after considerable thought; however I am often surprised at how many people miss out on a concert because of a lack of planning.

I just took a peek at the box office numbers and saw that the concert with Kellie Pickler on Saturday, January 25 is already within 150 tickets of being sold out.  This is because people have bought in to her concert by selecting three or more concerts and have included her as part of their Select Series.  This allows you to purchase tickets now, rather than waiting for the single tickets to be released.  In Pickler’s case, that date of single ticket release is October 16.  If enough people decide to look ahead and select three or more, there may be precious few tickets left to release on October 16.  This is what happened to the Ohio State Marching Band concert coming up on November 7.

I always hate to hear someone who wants to attend a concert and there are no seats.  I wish we could add more seats when needed.  I guess concerts are a little like candy; buying in bulk saves!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Toledo Symphony Orchestra’s Rodgers & Hammerstein concert at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo. This is the concert we will be presenting at the Niswonger on March 9. Also attending were our two vocalists for that evening, Mary Ann Falk and Jake Wilder.  They were also able to attend the rehearsal in Toledo and start planning our Van Wert concert with Maestro Jeffrey Pollock.  The concert was extremely enjoyable and delightful. You will know all the music and will feel like singing along because Rodgers & Hammerstein’s music is woven into our American fabric.  You won’t want to miss this one. Mark it on your calendars now!

We were delighted with the reception given to Ceci Wiselogel, our guest speaker/lecturer who presented a very interesting program last week of “Let Freedom Ring!”  Over 750 middle school students and about 150 adults enjoyed this interesting presentation of fun-filled facts about our country’s heritage.  Thanks should go out to our underwriters, Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative, Inc., Wal-Mart of Van Wert, and Midwest Electric, Inc. who made it possible for the students to enjoy this at no cost.

I should also mention that our presenter was very pleased with the interest and respect shown particularly by the students (I guess we just expect it from the adults.)  Congratulations to the students at Parkway and Van Wert Middle Schools. Your reception showed you were engaged and entertained.  Ceci, unfortunately, does not experience this kind of respect from students everywhere she presents. Congratulations to our administrators and teachers too.

As I mentioned, our season opening concert is this Saturday.  The multi Dove and Grammy Award winning contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith is coming to the Niswonger.  His appearance is quite overdue! With the likes of Amy Grant and Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith has also received great response from our patrons, as evidenced by selling out nearly three weeks in advance. We are all looking forward to a wonderful concert in our very intimate setting of the Van Wert County Foundation Saltzgaber Music Hall.

Michael doesn’t know it yet, but he is about to find his new favorite place to sing: the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio. Let the season begin!

FINÉ