Portsmouth Music and Arts Center is a non-profit organization providing music and visual arts opportunities for all in the community.
To make a donation to support PMAC during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, or to support our programs and tuition-aid, please click the donate button
UPCOMING EVENTS
Date
Title
Post Date
june
01mayAll Day09junUNH Fine Arts Program: 50th Anniversary Alumni ShowFREE

Event Details
The Bachelor of Fine Arts Program at UNH turns 50 this year and we're celebrating with some of the program's finest alumni in
Event Details
The Bachelor of Fine Arts Program at UNH turns 50 this year and we're celebrating with some of the program's finest alumni in this special art show honoring the program.
Artists
- Martha Cane
- Troy Corriveau
- Elizabeth Curry
- Forrest Elliott
- Samantha Elsaesser
- Daniel Faiella
- Elise Freda
- Julie Hamel
- Heather Hietala
- Cynthia Katz
- Jennifer Lamontagne
- Kris Lanzer
- Alex Leith
- Katey Morrill
- Catherine Nash
- Julianna Sagliano
- Harry Wolfson Slepian
- Emma Stine
- Cameron Schmitz
- Emily Leonard Trenholm
- Andy Upton
- Emily Wernig
Additional Special Events
Be sure to come see the exhibit on Friday, May 5 where you'll get to meet the artists and enjoy some light refreshments at the Opening Reception for the show.
Opening Reception
Friday, May 5
5:00-6:30pm
Free
Event Image: "Letting Go" by Heather Hietala
The Details
Admission Cost
The UNH Fine Arts Program 50th Anniversary Alumni Show is free for all. No tickets are needed, just come in and enjoy!
Hours:
Monday - 1:00 to 5:00
Tuesday - 1:00 to 5:00
Wednesday - by appointment only
Thursday - closed
Friday - 1:00 to 3:00, and 5:00 to 6:30
Saturday - 10:00 to 2:00
Sunday - closed
Upcoming PMAC Exhibits
- June 12 - June 16: "Off The Wall" Student Art Show
more
Time
May 1 (Monday) - June 9 (Friday)
Location
Haas Family Gallery and Recital Hall
973 Islington Street
25jun3:00 pmGuitar Sundays: Eric Hofbauer, jazz guitarFREE

Event Details
“Eric Hofbauer has become a significant force in Boston’s improvised-music scene,” declares Stereophile’s David R. Adler. “His aesthetic evokes old blues, Americana, Tin Pan
Event Details
“Eric Hofbauer has become a significant force in Boston’s improvised-music scene,” declares Stereophile’s David R. Adler. “His aesthetic evokes old blues, Americana, Tin Pan Alley, bebop, and further frontiers. There’s a rule-breaking spirit but also an impeccable rigor, a foundation of sheer chops and knowledge, that put Hofbauer in the top tier of guitarists,” he writes.
Hofbauer has been an integral member of Boston’s jazz scene as a musician, bandleader, organizer and educator for the past twenty five years. He has performed and recorded alongside such notable collaborators as Han Bennink, Roy Campbell, Jr., John Tchicai, Garrison Fewell, Cecil McBee, George Garzone, Sean Jones, John Fedchock, Steve Swell and Matt Wilson.
Hofbauer, recognized in the 2022, 2019 and 2017 DownBeat Critics’ Poll for Rising Star – Guitar, is perhaps best known for his solo guitar work featured in a trilogy of solo guitar recordings (American Vanity, American Fear and American Grace). Of the trilogy, Andrew Gilbert of The Boston Globe writes, “No other guitarist in jazz has developed a solo approach as rigorous, evocative, and thoughtful as Hofbauer. His 2016 solo release Ghost Frets, was described by Chris Haines of The Free Jazz Collective “as a real testament to Hofbauer’s musical style and vision…The playing is virtuosic throughout providing a real master class in creative solo performance.”
The latest large-scale endeavor by Hofbauer is a five part series of original suites, each named after one of the elements (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth) featured in the Chinese philosophical construct known as Wu Xing. The first release, 2019's Book of Water, is a classic jazz-sextet lineup which Jerome Wilson of All About Jazz describes as "a thrilling ride that rolls, swirls and crashes like an elemental force. The horn players are exuberant, the rhythm section is buoyant and Hofbauer, whether carving out single notes like Derek Bailey or tossing off busy runs like Joe Morris, threads the music together. There is delicacy and power in equal measure on this excellent release, one of the best of the year so far." The second release in the series, 2020’s Book of Fire, was conceived in a duo format with Anthony Leva on upright bass. The duo’s acoustic performance is augmented by the addition of electronic instrumentation (MPC1000 drum machine and turntables) and the intertwined recordings of literary giant James Baldwin. The result is an intense amalgam of consonance and texture; tradition and innovation. Burning Ambulance’s Todd Manning describes the project in this way, “the virtuosity displayed by Eric Hofbauer is staggering at times, but his acumen as a composer is even more impressive. Despite the varied influences and elements at play, Book of Fire is both remarkably coherent yet sonically unpredictable.”
Hofbauer has earned critical acclaim for his work in a variety of musical projects, including recordings with the Garrison Fewell’s Variable Density Orchestra, The Pablo Ablanedo Octet(o), Charlie Kohlhase’s Explorer’s Club, and The Blueprint Project with Han Bennink among others. Hofbauer's three recent collaborative projects, The Hofbauer/Dylan Jack Duo (guitar and drums duet performing a distinctive genre-crossing repertoire of covers), Pocket Aces (a "consciously compositional" improvising trio) and the Hofbauer/Rosenthal Quartet (a modern post bop outfit focused on original composition) had debut releases in 2018/19.
For the past seven years, his primary ensemble has been the Eric Hofbauer Quintet. The EHQ performs Hofbauer’s jazz arrangements of groundbreaking 20th century pieces which he describes as “prehistoric jazz.” These arrangements celebrate the common ground between modern jazz and the works of Stravinsky, Messiaen, Ellington, and Ives by using the shared rhythmic and harmonic concepts of the 20th century modernists as a bridge to postmodern jazz improvisation. In November of 2014 the EHQ recordings Prehistoric Jazz Volume 1 (The Rite of Spring) and Volume 2 (Quartet for The End of Time) were featured on NPR’s Fresh Air by noted jazz writer Kevin Whitehead. The 2016 release Prehistoric Jazz Volume 3 (Three Places in New England) and the 2017 release Prehistoric Jazz Volume 4 (Reminiscing in Tempo) were consecutively on the Boston Globe’s Top 10 Jazz Albums of the Year lists, as well as receiving critical acclaim from Downbeat, The Wire, Tone Audio and other press.
Hofbauer received a Master’s degree from New England Conservatory and a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory. Hofbauer is the chair of the Jazz and Contemporary Music Dept. at Longy School of Music of Bard College where he teaches jazz theory, artist portfolio, chamber ensembles, solo repertoire class, and guitar lessons. For over 20 years he has taught jazz history at Emerson College. Hofbauer has also been visiting professor at Wellesley College, and faculty at Clark University and the University of Rhode Island. In 2009, he was honored with the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship in Music Composition.
About Guitar Sundays
Portsmouth Music and Arts Center and Portsmouth Public Library, in association with the Boston Classical Guitar Society and with support from Service Credit Union present Guitar Sundays, a series of live guitar performances. Produced and curated by Mitch Shuldman, these free concerts will be held at 3 PM each month, alternating between the Levenson Room at the Portsmouth Public Library and the Haas Family Gallery and Recital Hall at PMAC.
Guitar Sundays draws from a rich selection of talent from both New Hampshire and the greater Boston area, this series of recitals highlights the versatility and range of the guitar with both classical and jazz performances.
2022-2023 Upcoming Guitar Sundays Concerts
- May 7 - William Ghezzi (PPL)

more
Time
(Sunday) 3:00 pm
Location
Portsmouth Music and Arts Center
973 Islington St
july
14jul5:00 pmTeen Jazz WorkshopSUGGESTED DONATION TO PPAF

Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Teen Jazz Workshop students, led by Chris Klaxton and Eric Klaxton.
Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Teen Jazz Workshop students, led by Chris Klaxton and Eric Klaxton.
Time
(Friday) 5:00 pm
Location
Prescott Park Arts Festival
105 Marcy St
21jul5:00 pmRock & Beyond Summer Workshop ISUGGESTED DONATION TO PPAF

Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Teen Rock Workshop students, led by Jim Dozet and Nick Phaneuf.
Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Teen Rock Workshop students, led by Jim Dozet and Nick Phaneuf.
Time
(Friday) 5:00 pm
Location
Prescott Park Arts Festival
105 Marcy St
28jul5:00 pmRock & Beyond Summer Workshop IISUGGESTED DONATION TO PPAF

Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Teen Rock Workshop students, led by Jim Dozet and Nick Phaneuf.
Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Teen Rock Workshop students, led by Jim Dozet and Nick Phaneuf.
Time
(Friday) 5:00 pm
Location
Prescott Park Arts Festival
105 Marcy St
august
04aug11:30 amRock 101 Show$5 SUGGESTED DONATION

Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Rock 101 Camp at PMAC led by Nick Phaneuf
Event Details
Join us for the culminating show from the PMAC Rock 101 Camp at PMAC led by Nick Phaneuf
Time
(Friday) 11:30 am
Location
Portsmouth Music and Arts Center
973 Islington St
PMAC Blog
All We Ask is that Art Stirs an Emotion
by Melissa Lund Ziegler | Mar 7, 2023 | Blog
by Darlene Furbush Ouellett, 2018 I receive a newsletter, “The Painter’s Keys”, in my inbox twice weekly. The newsletter was originally...
Opportunities that Inspire: PMAC students get VIP treatment at Brandi Carlile Show
by Russ Grazier | Feb 27, 2023 | Blog
by Russ Grazier When Music Hall Executive Director Tina Sawtelle reached out to me a while back, excited to share that Brandi would be...
Teaching in PMAC’s Amazing Community
by Melissa Lund Ziegler | Jan 30, 2023 | Blog
by Nick Phaneuf There are lots of different environments in which music students and teachers interact: School band programs are amazing...