蜜桃视频

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An opportunity to shine

Irma ('99) and Scott Mulherin ('99) bring big music to a small town
By: Aloma Jardine

Scott and Irma Mulherin met at 蜜桃视频 Allison during this 1997 Garnet and Gold production of The Pirates of Penzance.When Irma (Jagoe) Mulherin (鈥99) and Scott Mulherin (鈥99) graduated from 蜜桃视频 Allison, they had very definite plans for the future.

Scott would get his teaching degree, then they would get married, head west, and live happily ever after.

But while the first two items on the list went according to plan, it turns out their happily ever after has been in western New Brunswick, not Western Canada 鈥 in Scott鈥檚 hometown, Grand Falls.

That鈥檚 worked out well for Grand Falls, where the couple has become a driving force for music education and entertainment in the community of less than 6,000.

Irma graduated from 蜜桃视频 Allison with a Bachelor of Music degree. Scott was a French major with a minor in psychology, but music was a big part of his time at 蜜桃视频 Allison.

鈥淚 started with Garnet and Gold and did some Live Bait Theatre and then I met Irma and joined the jazz choir and took a couple of music classes for credit,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 where all my free time went.鈥

Scott Mulherin with students from the John Caldwell School middle school theatre group.While both started out teaching in public schools, Irma quickly realized that was not her passion.

鈥淓ven at the beginning I had taken on five or six private students and the more I got into it, the more I enjoyed it,鈥 she says.

Eventually she left her teaching job to start her own company, .

In addition to about 40 private students, who study voice, piano, guitar, and theory, they also have four choirs with 12-15 members each.

鈥淲e have a K-2 choir, a Grades 3-8 choir, a competitive teenage all-girl choir, and an adult community choir,鈥 Irma says.

Although the company is technically Irma鈥檚, Scott, who is a K-8 music specialist at a local school, is a huge part of it. He does choreography and stage direction for the shows, works with the choirs, and occasionally steps in to teach lessons when Irma is away adjudicating at festivals or competitions.

鈥淗e is doing more than he would admit to, he is there for every show,鈥 Irma says. 鈥淚t is my name on paper, but both names in reality.鈥

The community impact extends far beyond the opportunities for those participating in lessons or choirs. Broadway Productions shows have become must-see events for local residents.

A performance at Broadway Productions鈥 annual Christmas benefit concert.Each spring the students put on a musical and each Christmas there is an annual benefit concert.

鈥淲e have our own fund raising initiative called Sing Play Share and all the money goes back to the students and the community,鈥 Irma explains. 鈥淲e donate to the food bank, and this year we sent approximately $1,000 worth of school supplies to one of the local schools and supported one of our students who is helping to build a school in Ecuador. We also aim to provide up to $1,500 each year in music scholarships for students who would not otherwise be able to take lessons.鈥

And then there is the annual dinner theatre, which gives Scott and Irma a chance to get back on stage themselves. The shows, original productions written by Irma, also tour to other communities in the province that don鈥檛 have their own dinner theatres, such as Woodstock, Campbellton, and Bathurst, but the hometown crowd is the best 鈥 all seven nights of the performance in Grand Falls are always sold out.

鈥淪cott鈥檚 the one they love, but I鈥檓 the one that makes him funny,鈥 Irma says, laughing.

Scott says they would not have experienced the success they have if the community had not embraced what they offer.

CD Cover: Scott and Irma Mulherin鈥淭he year we got married we did our first concert and the support was there automatically,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey took us in and accepted us and supported us from the beginning.鈥

鈥淚t keeps going in a circle,鈥 Irma adds. 鈥淭he more we give, the more we get in support.鈥

Irma has been recognized locally and nationally for her contributions. In 2009 she received the Madawaska Victoria South CBDC Young Entrepreneur Award, was the runner up for the NB Woman Entrepreneur Award, and a finalist in the Prime Minister Volunteerism Awards. She is also the recipient of the 2012 New Brunswick Young Entrepreneur Award.

Scott Mulherin, right, performs the Anne of Green Gables song 鈥淕ee I鈥檓 Glad鈥 with daughter Madison.The whole family is now involved in the venture. The couple鈥檚 two children, Brandon, 14, and Madison, 12, are both junior instructors as well as participants.

Irma says their experience at 蜜桃视频 Allison and in Sackville is reflected in their work in Grand Falls.

鈥淢usic at 蜜桃视频 A is not just musical theatre and not just classical voice. It is every instrument imaginable and every mix of music and stage and art combined. You can get a global experience in a small town,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e like small communities. There are so many hidden gems in them. There is as much talent here as in any big city, they just need the opportunity to shine.鈥