Matanuska Susitna Orchestra performs annual concert benefiting Palmer Library

PALMER— The Matanuska Susitna Orchestra held its annual benefit concert Sunday afternoon to support the Friends of the Palmer Library, a nonprofit organization that helps fund library operations. The Palmer Depot was packed tight, seeing a huge turnout of attendees.

“We want to make music anyway. When we can make a difference, it’s what we want to do,” conductor Kate Patterson said.

Patterson said she always enjoys performing this annual tradition. She said that she felt a good impression from the audience’s reaction.

“The audience seemed pleased,” Patterson said.

The orchestra spent just six weeks to prepare for this show, according to Patterson.

“It was quick,” Patterson said.

The theme for this year’s concert was “Music from the Stage and Screen,” with a spectrum of classic film and theatre suites. The orchestra played well known numbers, ranging from the “Mission: Impossible” theme song to the music of “Frozen.”

Patterson said that she and the band counted on the fact that much of the audience would likely enjoy the concert since they would be familiar with most if not all of the movies and plays.

“We picked music we thought the community would enjoy,” Patterson said. “We seem to be society that enjoys being entertained by movies and television.”

Patterson said this was the 12th year for the concert. She said that when they first started, the concerts were held inside the Palmer Library.

“We were playing in between the shelves,” Patterson said with a laugh.

Now, holding a concert of this scale certainly wouldn’t work logistically since this annual event seems to pull in more people each year. This year, the depot overflowed with people, far more than originally anticipated.

“We had to use every last back up chair,” Janel Gagnon, president of the Friends of the Palmer Public Library, said.

There was so much overflow from the heavy turnout that a handful of people had to stand for the concert.

“We definitely couldn’t do this at the library now. We wouldn’t fit,” Patterson said.

Holding an annual concert that benefits a nonprofit organization, let alone one that is tied to a community’s library is right on par with the band’s mission statement, according to Patterson. She said that the band regularly holds beneficial concerts for various nonprofits around the Valley to support the area they all live and play in. She said that aside from having a wide selection of books, the Palmer Library is known for their fun and educational programs, especially for children.

“I hope that our community continues to support the library because we don’t want to lose that,” Patterson said.

Attendees donated a total of $848, according to Gagnon.

The next Matanuska Susitna Orchestra concert will be on April 28 at the Glenn Massay Theater, starting at 3 p.m. The show will be called “Let’s Dance” and according to Patterson, that’s a “broad topic for an orchestral ensemble” so there will be anything from classical numbers to Justin Timberlake.

“There’s going to be a lot of variety there,” Patterson said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com