By Jim & Barbara Burket (president & secretary 1971-2007)

 With a firm determination & enthusiasm to bring fine artists to this area, a group of music lovers, back in 1949, got together and started the Seaford Community Concert Association.  Little did they suspect at that time that the membership to this organization would grow to exceed the new High School auditorium size of 1200 for the first time in the 2006-2007 season.  Their history, however, was not without it’s ups and downs.

 The organization started their life in association with the Community Concerts division of Columbia artists out of New York City.  Their first season included the young duo-piano artist Whittemore & Lowe, who, incidentally were the only artists to perform three times on our stage. (57-58 season and 75-76 season which was the last tour for the duo)

 The first subscriber history on record was in the 56-67 series when it reached 650: a comfortable size for the then existing auditorium.  The membership continued to grow until a sudden drop in 1991 when the membership hit a low of 455 members when the association considered folding.  However, the end was not to be!  Several board members did some campaigning and, with the aid of Irv Wheatley, president of the Seaford Chamber of Commerce at the time and their gift of $2500, SCCA rose from the proverbial ashes.

 In the 1990’s the Community Concerts division of Columbia artists was separated as an independent organization which allowed them to provide a broader range of artists from which the local organizations could choose.  Around 2000 the main Community Concerts organization was brought under the Trawick Artists organization.  They, however, were poorly managed and brought great financial pressure to the local organizations.  The Seaford organization, by then, was strong enough to carry on and eventually became associated with Live On Stage for their artist contacts.

 SCCA is now a self-supporting, non profit, organization, run solely by local volunteers. It is, however, affiliated with the nationwide "Live On Stage" organization out of Nashville, TN. Between the Nashville staff and their field representatives, and the Printertainment business, they offer a full range of services to our local organization including: booking, staging of artists, promotion, and membership campaign operation. Community Concerts operates under the concept of "Organized Audience Plan", that is, securing an audience before final booking of the concerts. An annual membership campaign, utilizing the plan, ensures concerts are fully funded before each season begins, through membership dues, and patron gifts. No tickets are sold to individual concerts.

In the past, our members have enjoyed concerts such as: Whittemore & Lowe, Rise Stevens, Simon Estes, Columbus Boys Choir, Earl Rose Trio, Little Angels of Kore Folk Ballet, Ted Alan Worth, many brass quintets, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, Hambro Quartet of Pianos, New Cristy Minstrell, Ballet Florida, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the River City Brass Band, the musical Forever Plaid, the Inflatable Theater, the Great China Acrobats, and Hector Olivera, to name a few.

The association guarantees 3 concerts each year (and usually has more).  The association believes that the unique opportunity to experience the best of live performance should be accessible and available to every person in the country and the Seaford Association is doing their part to make that happen in this area of the Eastern Shore.  Assistance towards this end also comes from our patron plan. 

For more information on Live On Stage, go to their web site Live On Stage,LLC