‘Music Drives Us’ donation equips Palace Theatre Youth Academy with ukes, guitars, keyboards

Byline: Carol Robidoux - View Article

MANCHESTER, NH – In the hands of eight eager Palace Academy students, the new ukuleles donated by automotive mogul Ernie Boch Jr.’s Music Drives Us foundation, made more than beautiful music.

The tuneful plinking and plucking of strings from the Palace Theatre stage was the promise of a future where music can flourish in a world where funding for the arts is harder to come by all the time.

During a musical presentation last week, Jacyn Tremblay, representing the Music Drives Us foundation, said the delivery of the instruments helps fulfill the organization’s mission to “spread the love” by keeping music in schools and local communities throughout New England.

“We are granting instruments to the Palace Theatre Academy – ukuleles, guitars and keyboards, and stands to go with them – because they are doing incredible programs for youth in our community,” Tremblay said.

The organization has a rolling grant cycle and is open to any organizations in the community interested in getting more instruments into the hands of students.

“A lot of programs are gettig cut or defunded so we want to reverse that trend wherever we can,” Tremblay said.

Shannon Sullivan, Director of Corporate and Community Partnerships for the Palace, said there are approximately 400 students taking classes through the Palace Academy and up to 1,200 across their youth theatre programs.

Megan Quinn, Director of Youth Programming, said that giving students who are interested in theatre a chance for hands-on experience with instruments can open unexpected doors.

“I’ve been Director of Programming for about six years, and what used to be six performances a year is now 17,” Quinn said. “We have 12 camps and amazing dance programming, and I just love the opportunity for these kids to start doing something that is adjacent to theatre, a chance to try something a little different.”

After a performance of “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” by some of the cast members of “Annie Jr., which just wrapped up as part of the Children’s Summer Series, “Miss Alli” Beaudry took the stage to demonstrate how it’s possible to teach the fundamentals of ukulele in about 15 minutes. Her lesson, which included some music theory and trial and error, culminated in a lovely rendition of “Tomorrow” (video at the top of this post).