PORTSMOUTH — There were plenty of laughs and lots of love showcased during the grand opening of Portsmouth High School’s newly renovated Kate Grana Auditorium, hosted by the Kate Grana Music and Arts Association (KGMAA) Tuesday night, Sept. 24. 

For roughly an hour that night, donors, community members and town and school officials alike honored the memory of the beloved Portsmouth music educator, who passed away in 2016, while experiencing firsthand the exciting new capabilities the transformed auditorium now holds. 

There were the hijinks of emcee Sheli Silveria and witty skits performed by PHS students; sobering, traditional hymns sung by the “Chorus for Kate”; and snappy tunes played and danced to by the PHS marching band and color guard. They put good use to the new cyc and soundboard, and did an ode to the giant ceiling fan. More than once, a joke was cracked about the absence of those old, wooden chairs. 

“I bet your butts aren’t hurting anymore,” quipped KGMAA board member Matthew Rodrigues in the show’s opening video. 

It was all made possible by the updates and improvements spearheaded by members of KGMAA, led by their president, Margie Brennan. As a mother to a new student in the Portsmouth schools three years ago, Ms. Brennan saw, through her own children, just how important the arts can be in building confidence and promoting acceptance. 

“An environment such as this, predicated on inclusion and creativity, need not only be protected, but fostered,” she said. 

Though they still have a ways to go in fully establishing the Kate Grana auditorium as a top-rate music and arts center, KGMAA board members knew they would not be where they were today without the support of their sponsors and residents within the Portsmouth community, whom they took ample time to thank throughout the night’s affair. 

As they continue moving forward, however, KGMAA vice president and Ms. Grana’s wife, Sue Cotta, is simply pleased that her partner’s legacy will carry on, encouraging more students to achieve even greater heights. 

“I know that she would be ecstatic that finally this new facility … is finally going to start to match the excellence of the students and teachers that are in this building,” Ms. Cotta said. 

“The music of Kate Grana, and all who pass through this facility, will live on.”