Statement from Jude Blake, Chair of The Music Hall Board of Trustees

Portsmouth, NH – Today, Jude Blake, Chair of The Music Hall Board of Trustees released the following statement on behalf of the Board of Trustees:

As a nearly 40-year institution devoted to the arts, our mission is clear: to nurture healthy communities, lifelong learning and shared experiences.

We are constantly striving to uphold this mission and do so in hosting more than 700 events every year. On October 3, a real-time decision adversely affected The Joan G. Lovering Health Center.

The decision to cancel the rental contract was made in the context of security concerns by our CEO in consultation with members of her internal leadership staff. The Music Hall team recognizes that they should have more productively engaged Lovering in the decision making process. And for that, we apologize and are committed to making things right.

We strive to be an exceptional organization and aim for excellence, and recognize that we fell short in this instance.

We can and will do better.

The Board, our CEO, Tina Sawtelle, and I want to regain the trust of our community. Today we are sharing a series of actions in which we strive to uphold our mission with the Seacoast and the broader community:

  • First and foremost, our CEO has reached out to the Lovering Health Center’s Executive Director to apologize and see how we could serve them better. We have also invited them to use The Music Hall for a future event.
  • Second, to nurture continued dialogue, The Music Hall will host a series of listening sessions with key community stakeholders including members, The City of Portsmouth and our broader community partners.
  • Third, The Music Hall is reviewing its security procedures and rental policies. Upcoming dialogue will shape this work.

With all of this in mind, I, along with The Board of Trustees, support and appreciate our Music Hall CEO and her staff, who are talented and caring individuals passionately serving our community.

About The Music Hall

Since 1987, The Friends of The Music Hall, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, has upheld its mission: to present diverse, high-quality arts programming as a vital cultural hub for the Seacoast community. Today, The Music Hall continues to enrich Portsmouth’s cultural fabric with world-class entertainment by generating over $15M in economic impact to the downtown economy.