The Rocket

Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: Focus

The importance of the arts has recently become more evident in nearly all schools and SRU is no exception.

Deborah Baker, Manager of University Events, said that back in the '80s the university had an arts series, but then it disappeared besides the occasional event UPB would bring in.

"(Then) three years ago, the university saw that there was a strong focus on the arts and interest in performing arts, and we knew that it was time to bring back strong, high caliber events," Baker said.

And with that, the Performing Arts Series was born.

Originally sponsored by ING its first year, the Performing Arts Series no longer has one single sponsor. Instead, various groups on campus such as academic departments, the dean of humanities and fine and performing arts, International Initiatives and UPB make contributions to the events.

This school year, the university is proudly bringing four more big acts to Miller Auditorium as part of its 2007-08 Performing Arts Series.

Baker said she is thrilled to bring all of the acts to SRU and is eager to see the response from students, faculty and the community.

"Both years previous have been extremely successful," Baker said. "We've had a really good response, have had people really excited and proving their excitement by continuing to make all the shows sell-outs."

Baker, who has been an event planner for over 25 years, said she has seen a lot of performances over the years, which helps her to know which groups or acts she would like to see brought to SRU in the future.

Although the university pays many thousands of dollars to get such highly recognized and respected artists to come perform, Baker said that she does all she can to keep the ticket prices as low as possible for students.

"(I believe) part of the university experience is being shown to professional artists," Baker said. "And that's why it's important to make it extra affordable to students."

To do this, Baker works with various agencies to receive as many grants as possible to lower the overall price to bring an artist to SRU, thereby making the individual ticket prices lower.

This year, the subscription rates for all four shows are $26 for SRU students, $60 for children (17 and younger) and senior citizens (62 and older) and $70 for an adult, all of which are significantly lower costs per performance than anyone would pay to see any one of these acts in their own venue.

Continued...

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