ETSU’s Martin Center for the Arts is opening doors for musical appreciation in youth through a five thousand dollar subsidy provided by the First Horizon Foundation.

(Contributed/ETSU Martin Center for the Arts)

“It plays right into the mission for ETSU, improving the quality of life for people of our area, and I think being able to offer this type of programming to young folks is doing just that,” says Jennifer Clements, executive director of the Martin Center and University Events.

The First Horizon Foundation reached out to the Martin Center in order to establish a way for eligible children and teens to receive free tickets to age-appropriate shows, allowing this demographic to further expand their education within the arts.

“One of the things I’m really excited about (with) this new subsidy program is just how it will be able to inspire the new generation of kids. . .” says Clements. “One of my most favorite things is to be able to watch the eyes and minds of young people as they light up, as they see performances for the first time. So I think that’s really exciting to be able to have that opportunity here at the Martin Center.”

In order to put this initiative into action, The Martin Center worked with the ETSU Foundation, and continually works with Student Life and Enrollment on ticket costs in order to provide the best experiences for students as possible.

“The great thing about the subsidy program is that, you know, First Horizon really is kind of laying the groundwork and providing the foundation to get this program off the ground,” says Clements.”So if there are others that are interested and passionate about helping this cause, then they can definitely contact development at etsumartincenter.org and have the opportunity to help join the cause and help to provide more funding and opportunities for children in our area.”

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