School buses lined 5th, 6th and 7th Avenues ferrying students to the Hult Center for youth education performances given by the Eugene Ballet Company and the Eugene Symphony Association on Feb. 15.
As Resident Companies of the Hult Center, these two organizations annually offer low-cost educational performances to youth throughout the region and bring students to the Silva Concert Hall who might not otherwise have the opportunity.
The Eugene Ballet Company performed Tchaikovsky’s famous classical ballet Swan Lake for 1,700 youth, and with the Eugene Symphony’s two performances this week of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, the total number of attendees was nearly 5,000 students. Elementary through high school students from Eugene, Springfield, Junction City, Creswell, Cottage Grove, and Roseburg filled the Silva Concert Hall.
This year, the Hult Center was proud to provide the Eugene Ballet Company’s youth event with $2,500 for 500 scholarships from the Britta Putjenter Memorial Education Fund established by her husband Klaus Putjenter.
Had a decibel reader been in the Hult Center lobby after Tuesday’s performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets by the Eugene Symphony, it would have gauged the same as a sold-out football game! Middle and high school students beamed with joy as they left the concert. “What a sight to see and hear these students coming out of the Silva Concert Hall!” says Marcia James, Hult Center Ticket Office Manager, with a big smile on her face!