COMMUNITY CONCERT ASSOCIATION DISBANDING

After more than a half century of providing musical entertainment for Cape Girardeau residents, the Community Concert Association plans one curtain call before it disbands.

The organization will hold a farewell concert Nov. 5 as a tribute to concert association members, said David Kaempfer, who has been president of the association for the past two years.

"We're going to have one more concert and everyone who was a member last year will be invited," Kaempfer said. The concert features pianist Robert Levin of the New York Philomusica.

The board of directors decided dissolution was the best answer to lagging interest in the organization and falling attendance at concerts.

Edward Kaiser, a member of the executive board, said, "In a nutshell we were doing OK with the exception that we just ran out of help. We couldn't get the younger set interested in working and following our footsteps."

Kaempfer said the average age of the board of directors was close to 70 and that younger people haven't expressed an interest in stepping into leadership roles.

"We still had money in savings but we were eating into it every year," Kaempfer said. "We decided to quit while we're ahead rather than keep going and risk incurring a debt."

"Life goes on," said Kaiser. "We didn't go out of business because we didn't have money. We had no one to man the doors and to do the mailings and all the things that have to be done."

For this year's concert series, about 125 memberships were sold. In the early years, membership topped 1,000.

"We tried to have concerts for everyone but attendance was not too good," Kaiser said. He and Kaempfer said membership could have been better if more people had been involved in selling memberships.

The association also may be the victim of changing times.

"It isn't anything now to drive to St. Louis to see something," Kaempfer said, "and the university music department has improved tremendously in recent years. Years ago there wasn't the good music available that is available now."

Some Community Concert Association members will join groups in Perryville or Sikeston.

Others are interested in a new group formed at Southeast Missouri State University called Friends of Music.

"There is the possibility down the road a piece someone may step forward to reorganize," Kaiser said. "Hopefully we can pick up the torch in the community with Friends of Music."

Friends of Music was founded in 1994 by Sterling Cossaboom, chairman of Southeast Missouri State University's music department. It serves as a booster club and advisory board for the music department. About 20 community members, including Kaempfer and Kaiser, serve on the board.

Cossaboom said the goals include performing a variety of outreach activities for the community and for the university, including concerts.

Another goal, Cossaboom said, is to develop audiences, particularly young audiences. "They hope to get children introduced to high quality performance and fine arts," he said.

A long-range goal is development of a performing arts center on campus, Cossaboom said. The center could provide space for performances by musical and theater groups and an art gallery.

CONCERTS

Community concerts have a 69-year history in Cape Girardeau

1927-1929

Civic Music Association formed by 50 Cape Girardeau music lovers to provide high quality performances. Membership topped 1,000, but the Great Depression forced a halt to the concert series in 1929.

1935-42

Cape Girardeau citizens revived the concert series organization, calling it the Cooperative Concert Association.

1943-1996

The Community Concert Association linked Cape Girardeau's organization with other similar groups. Successful for over 50 years, official say young people haven't stepped into leadership roles and sales of annual memberships have dropped. A final concert is planned Nov. 5.