Portsmouth Music and Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community music and arts school. There is a place for everyone at PMAC – we welcome your involvement as a student, parent, volunteer or member. Through music and art, PMAC helps our students meet and accomplish important life goals. We are committed to excellence in arts education and work daily to build community through the arts.
Since our founding in 2002, the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center has successfully motivated and inspired thousands of music and art students of all ages. Our faculty’s commitment to the highest educational standards, combined with the passion and dedication of our students, is at the core of this success.
At PMAC we offer a wide variety of educational programs that meet the needs and aspirations of students of all ages and ability levels. Our teaching, regardless of musical genre or artistic medium, encourages the development of strong foundations. Our music curriculum has grown in recent years to include classical, jazz, blues, bluegrass, folk and rock, and many of our students explore other styles beyond our core curriculum. We frequently welcome guest artists who introduce students to a wide array of culturally diverse traditions. Our visual arts program focuses on strong foundations through a wide variety of media and cultural traditions. Our goal is always to provide the student with the opportunity to achieve their full creative potential.
Music & Youth’s Music Clubhouse, Studio Clubhouse and Mobile Studio programs provide youth with the opportunity to experience the magic of music. Music has the power to build academic and social skills; unleash creativity; and develop self-confidence and self-esteem. Music & Youth Initiative’s ultimate goal is to use music as a vehicle for the development of a multitude of life skills that will help young people who are facing tremendous socio-economic obstacles. By learning to play an instrument or compose a song, Clubhouse members learn self-discipline and the value of hard work. By performing in front of their families and friends, or creating their own music in the Clubhouse recording studio, they gain self-confidence and build self-esteem. The motivation and discipline inherent in the study of music positively affect all aspects of a child’s development.
Our music programs provide unlimited opportunities for creative development and change. Whether using the latest technology or following the current trends in music, our goal is to make sure the program is one that will not only draw youth in, but will engage them in a meaningful way.
Music & Youth also offers a workforce development “Youth Leader program” that provides opportunities for youth dedicated to the music program to develop job skills. For many of these youth, this is their first job. They need to apply for the job, create and manage a set of goals and objectives, and report at the end of the semester on how they have performed and what they have learned.
The Ogunquit Playhouse Scholarship Fund provides theatrical training for students with need in a supportive and nurturing environment. The Ogunquit Playhouse Children’s Theatre Camp for students age 5 to 18 is designed to identify, strengthen and enhance each student’s performance skills, self-esteem and self-expression. Students receive training in dance and choreography, improvisation, acting, staging and vocal work while preparing to perform before a live audience on the Playhouse stage. Each of the sessions culminates in a fully staged production on the Playhouse’s main stage!