Kathy Gagne Reflects on 30 Years at Mechanics Hall Ahead of Encore Farewell Event

By Staff

WORCESTER, Mass. —Kathy Gagne has been with Mechanics Hall for over thirty-years and has served as its Executive Director the last seven. In this edition of Inside Mechanics Hall, we will talk about upcoming performances. Gagne is retiring from Mechanics Hall, and the “Encore” event on June 13th is being held to honor her contributions and raise funds for the hall. Mechanics Hall’s youth singers’ program, which provides free choral education to children in the city, is a key part of the hall’s mission and will be represented at the “Encore” event. Numerous other local artists will take part as well, including Cara Brindisi. As Kathy says, “Mechanics Hall is so special. I cannot urge enough people to come out June 13th to see all the aspects of what Mechanics Hall is about and to truly appreciate this unique space, not just in Worcester, but in the country and we’re known worldwide, acoustical treasure in the music world internationally, it’s a must play, must record, and locally it’s a beloved gathering place for all kinds of activity, culture, humanities, celebrations.” “If I leave Mechanics Hall with any message, it is, don’t forget how much we need the community to support us because we can’t let it go. We’re approaching post-restoration about 50 years. We’re zooming in on 50 years, and that’s about the time after the hall was built in 1857 that it started to be misused, deteriorate, other venues opening up other new shiny things coming into the city. The age of the hall was a problem also, lots of competition. There were theaters and music halls and lots of other competing interests. And that lasted a long time. That lasted 70 years until the restoration occurred, and now we’re so proud.”

Disclosure: All information in this article was obtained during a recent interview with Kathy Gagne, Mechanics Hall, on The Talk of the Commonwealth radio show.

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