by Bill Coons, Historian
1988-89 Season: Summer Theatre continued dark. Joanne O’Keefe became Secretary. Bill Fellows continued as President, without a V.P. The Symphony began its season in July by playing at the 150th anniversary of Honeoye Falls, resulting in a contribution of $1,600 to GPAS. The lack of publicity in the Greece Post became a topic of discussion. Membership was down to 125, a cause for concern. GPAS received $300 for its support of the Saltworks Theatre for their presentation of “I am the Brother of Dragons”, a play about chemical dependency, to school students, with one open performance for adults. The Rochester Brass Concert performed at the Christmas concert. The Olympia H.S. jazz band was featured at the Pops concert. Proceeds were $1,500, plus $380 for the raffle of a Greece quilt donated by Barbara Doty-Tellier. There was no LIFT Grant, due to lack of originality in the proposal, but $2,650 was received as a Decentralization Grant. Another Festival of Religious Music was held with 6 choirs besides the Choral Society. Among several concerts, the Symphony performed at the Temple B’rith Kodesh in April and at Olympia H.S. in May, with 5 soloists. The Choral Society performed at the 175th anniversary of Greece Baptist Church. Additional fund raising events were another Chinese dinner, netting $975, and a garage sale for the Theatre, raising $572. A planned Summer Theatre was cancelled at the last minute, when one of the leads bowed out. The surplus for the year was $640, plus a Theatre deposit of $1,850, to be refunded. GPAS treasury balance was $7,250. It was decided to transfer $1,000 to the Theatre account. The surplus for the year was $639. Ending balance was $7,253, plus $1,548 in the Theatre account
1989-90 Season: Arthur Abel became President, Barbara Koeng VP (resigned) and Dorothy Romanet Secretary. The Symphony Orchestra performed in August at the town “End of Summer” celebration, with fireworks following. New revenue raisers approved were a $5 increase in membership dues and printing a suggested minimum $2 donation in concert programs. Tickets were sold for the grand opening of Sibley’s at the new Irondequoit Mall, raising $675. The Chinese Dinner was abandoned due to the inability to find a satisfactory location and date. Judith Ranaletta, Artistic Director, proposed a Summer Theatre consisting of “A Little Night Music” and “Baby”. For a time, there was concern about the venue, but then the Athena Forum Room became available. 69 students performed at the Young Artist Competition. The Choral Society and Symphony performed the Christmas portion of the “Messiah” at the Christmas concert. The Athena Show Choir was the guest group at the Pops Concert. The Choral Society 20th anniversary concert was held in April. Soloists at various Symphony Concerts were Tara Noval, violin, Mark Lear, oboe, Nancy Allen, soprano, Kristin Stiles, violin and Michael Burnett, organ. Received were a $2,800 Decentralization Grant and a $1,000 LIFT Grant for the Theatre. The deficit for the year was $434. Ending balance was $5,819, plus $4,697 in the Theatre account.
1990-91 Season: Joyce Horn was elected President and Shirl Schanzenbach VP (resigned). The 1990 Summer Theatre had 13 performances to an audience of about 2,000, and had a net deficit of $31. A 1991 season consisting of “Grease” and “Company” was approved. The Symphony again performed at the 2nd annual Greece “End of Summer” celebration. Also, during the summer, the Choral Society combined with the Rochester Oratorio Society for a concert trip to Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The Town preliminary budget eliminated GPAS funding. It was eventually restored. In November, the Symphony presented concerts at St. Mary’s Church in Rochester and St. Louis Church in Pittsford, including a Schubert Mass with the combined choirs of St. Mary’s, St. Louis and Christ Episcopal in Pittsford. The Choral Society performed with the RPO under Erich Kunzel in February. The Arcadia Jazz Ensemble was the guest group at the Pops Concert. A wine-tasting fundraiser was cancelled when the wine merchant backed out. The 4th Festival of Religious Music included 5 choirs and the Choral Society. A Symphony concert in April had to be postponed due to rehearsals cancelled by the ice storm. $3,150 was received as a Decentralization grant. The year ended with 160 members, 177 contributors (below membership level) and 11 corporate members. Deficit was $474. Ending balance was $5,345, plus $4,081 in the Theatre account.
1991-92 Season: Joyce Horn continued as President, with Joanne Dennstedt as VP. The Town “End of Summer “ celebration became a 2 day “Summer Festival”. The Symphony again performed. The 1991 Summer Theatre had a surplus of $1,302. A garage sale was held to benefit the Theatre. A Stuben vase was discovered in the garage sale contributions. It was advertised and sold for $225. The Chinese dinner was revived, netting $447. The Community Orchestra, directed by Tom Ellison, continued to perform at nursing homes and other venues. It was learned that Charles Dewey, one of the GPAS organizers, had passed away. A memorial fund was received to fund a Young Artist instrumental award. 57 students auditioned. It was decided to make a tape including excerpts from the three music groups to be given to members during the next fall campaign. A 1992 Theatre season consisting of “Sweet Charity” and “Nunsense” was in preparation. The Olympia Jazz Ensemble was the guest group at the Pops Concert. The Symphony performed a March program with choirs from the Cathedral School, St. Mary’s and St. Paul’s Episcopal. The Choral Society performed with the Buffalo Choral Arts Society in Buffalo and in Greece. A Cabaret fundraiser with food, music and an auction was held in June at the Deerfield Country Club. It netted $1,154. The Decentralization grant was $1,650. Surplus was $2,724. Ending balance was $8,569, plus $1,058 in the Theatre account.