2015- 2016 Season Curator’s Highlights

June 3, 2015
By  Content Editor

Regina Baraban: How did your stint at the Museum of Fine Arts help prepare you for your job at The Music Hall?

Thérèse LaGamma: The museum’s Summer Courtyard concert series was often a nail biter in terms of dealing with unpredictable weather patterns. It fell to me to make the last minute call to move indoors if there was the threat of rain. It was helpful to have direct access to WBZ’s meteorology team!  Being able to handle the logistics of an urban environment, including getting musicians in and out of a busy city museum, was all part of the experience. It was exciting to work on a team with everyone from the facilities crew to the security guards to a talented production staff.

I booked the talent and did all the contract negotiation. I was also very much involved in marketing and promoting the series through press releases and brochure design. I even made cold calls to the Boston Globe. I learned to take some risks and present potential emerging artists not necessarily on the public radar at the time,  including DJ Spooky and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. I also discovered the music of Little Jimmy Scott and Icelandic electronic pop band Múm. All this gave me the experience to manage the many nuances of my curator job at The Music Hall.

RB: Do you have a musical background?

TL: Music has always played an important role in my life. I trained classically and have been singing since I was a small child—first in churches,  while growing up in Italy, and later while living in Nigeria, West Africa. In Nigeria I got to sing at The Shrine—a very famous nightclub belonging to world renowned musician- Fela- a performer I have long admired.

RB: What are some you your proudest moments as performing arts curator at The Music Hall?

TL:

  • Bringing The Moth Mainstage to Portsmouth for the first time.
  • Introducing Reggie Watts to the Seacoast. His comedy is unpredictable and wildly creative.
  • Bringing the Ukranian band Dakhabraka to The Music Hall Loft and seeing the wildly enthusiastic response from our audience.
  • Planning the first Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival with Executive Director Patricia Lynch, and getting the chance to interview Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Haggard who appeared as a headliner that year.
  • Watching Chris Thile (of The Punch Brothers) take the historic stage the day the announcement came out that he had received the MacArthur Genius Award. The audience teased him about it and everyone was in good spirits. Thile and his band put on a phenomenal show that night.

RB: Do you have a personal favorite genre of music?

TL: I grew up listening to my parents’ record collection: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Fifth Dimension, Buffy Sainte-Marie—and was exposed to French, Italian, and African music.  I love it all, although I am particularly drawn to world music. World music is influencing so many musicians today, from Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn to popular bands like Vampire Weekend that have taken inspiration from Africa. It’s great to see French-Cuban sisters Ibeyi and Belgian singer Stromae-building themselves a fanbase in the U.S.,  and to see world musicians who are able to successfully meld traditional sounds with more modern elements.

RB: Along with a huge lineup of artists coming to the Music Hall venues this summer, there’s an exciting fall season ahead. Can you share some highlights with us?

TL: I’m excited about all the great music coming to Portsmouth—patrons will have a bounty to choose from! Here are just a few highlights:

Joan Armatrading has said this will be her very last major world tour.  She performs as part of our Intimately Yours series on Thursday, September 24.

Grammy-nominated songwriter Joseph Arthur will be in the Loft on Saturday, November 14. His music combines poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette and his live performances often incorporate loop and distortion pedals. He is also a critically acclaimed visual artist whose work has been displayed in galleries around the world.

Fans of This American Life won’t want to miss Ira Glass’ Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host in April.  It combines elements of dance and storytelling.

RB: Aside from attending music festivals, how do you keep up with musical trends?

TL: This past winter I trained as a DJ at WUNH on 91.3 fm and have been invited to co-host a show there over the summer. Tune in on Wednesdays from 3-6pm.  Whenever possible I am running to NYC,  Boston, and Portland to catch shows. The live experience is where you can really gauge the magic between the audience and the artist.