The new James C. and Mary B. Martin Center for the Arts will continue to host music and theater classes and intends on continuing virtual events, but a grand opening to the public is not planned until August.
Jen Clements, executive director for university events, and Lise Cutshaw, marketing and media coordinator for the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts, said that although the pandemic has changed the scope of events, the Martin Center will still operate to benefit ETSU and the community safely.
“We’ve been using a lot of this space to help with accommodating social distancing for COVID,” said Clements. “So, we’ve been able to host a lot of the classes and everything on campus here to help our musical and theater students to meet in-person.”
The Martin Center opened for use by faculty and students as rehearsal and recording spaces in fall 2020. Classes will continue to operate out of the Martin Center this spring. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Clements said the Martin Center’s schedule is busy with music and theater classes.
Cutshaw said there are numerous music classes that utilize the Martin Center’s rehearsal spaces: Wind Ensemble, ETSU Chorale, East Tennessee Belles, Opera Theatre Workshop and Chamber Orchestra. Percussion also has four practice rooms within the Martin Center.
The ETSU Department of Theatre and Dance will also continue to use the Martin Center for their virtual performances this spring.
Looking forward, the Martin Center plans on hosting a 10-event series.
“One of our goals is that every season we will bring 10 professional programs here to the arts,” said Clements. “So, we are hoping that’ll be a couple of Broadway shows; we are hoping to bring in some really neat musicians and artists, performers, some comedians.”
The 10-event series is currently on hold due to the difficulty of scheduling events, but Clements is hopeful that a season will be coming together in the upcoming weeks.
Once the Martin Center is fully operational, it will serve students as an opportunity for real world experience. Clements and Cutshaw both say they are excited for students to gain professional experience at a state-of-the-art performance center through internships.
The Martin Center will also boost community engagement and attempt to entice people to experience all that Johnson City has to offer.
“We’ll have that world class entertainment right here in Johnson City,” said Clements.
