HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

The Rochester Opera House Board of Directors is pleased to announce the award of a $20,000 grant for operations support for the 2011/2012 season from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (the Piscataqua Region Community Fund and the Charles & Aroline B. Greenfield Fund).  This NHCF grant award follows the Foundation's $20,000 grant award for the previous season.  We are extremely pleased and fortunate to have been selected for this extremely competitive award, which is a tremendous boost for operations stabilization. (Continued below)

Two consecutive grant awards from NHCF is testament to the amazing progress that our passionate, dedicated staff and volunteers continue to achieve at the Rochester Opera House, since reorganization began in December 2007.  With the stabilization of operations, we enhanced our educational and family programming this past season and introduced Rochester Opera House Productions, which employs area artists to produce the Theatre Series.  This season, we added Summer Theatre Camp for children ages four through teen and the Summer Picnic Series for children of all ages.  The Mayoral Task Force, led by Mayor T.J. Jean, has formed a Development Committee, chaired by John McKenna. Plans are underway to complete a long range development plan with the goal to secure the future of the Rochester Opera House.

Built and designed within the Rochester City Hall by architect George Gilman Adams in 1908, the Rochester Opera House is the only theatre remaining in the country today with a mechanism that raises or levels the auditorium floor.  With the floor leveled and the orchestra seats removed, the theatre stages flat floor events such as dance parties and dinner theatre. For concerts and plays, the floor is raised and the seats are replaced.  The Rochester Opera House is located in City Hall, 31 Wakefield Street, Rochester NH.  To learn more about this historic theatre, please visit RochesterOperaHouse.com.