Georgia Military College officially launched its ENCORE! program with GMC Prep’s One Act performance in September and one professional performance this month with success.
Associate Vice President of the GMC Theatre and NewDay USA Center of Leadership Mark Weaver stated the program is a transition of a previous society at the college. It began 20 years ago as the Steinway Society when the Goldstein Center opened to raise funds for a Steinway grand piano.
“A group got together with a professor to raise funds through concerts and raising ticket sales to fund the piano we have now,” said Weaver. “Once that goal was achieved, they renamed it to the Performing Arts Society and continued to bring artists in and fundraise to support the GMC Junior College and GMC Prep School Fine Arts Programs.”
The society was then renamed to the Performing Arts Concert Series, aiming to bring more well-known professional artists to the community.
“It continued to bring in concerts each winter and spring for the public. But over the years, artist fees have gone up and many things have become more expensive,” said Weaver.
“We haven’t raised prices for tickets in quite a while and it became unsustainable. It was bringing artists to Milledgeville but not putting money back into the school.
Thus, we decided on a reorganization.”
GMC Chief of Staff Jill Robbins and former Vice President of Advancement Sally Thrower began a “think tank” with a community of volunteers to change it to a membership program.
“So, Encore! was the name that was chosen, since it is a continuation of a program now reimagined,” said Weaver.
“Memberships range from $100 to $5,000 that come with membership extras. The goal is to support concerts local and professional, the Fine Arts program, and to give insight into our Fine Arts Program.”
The Encore! Grand Kickoff Event was held Sept. 30 in the GMC Theatre at the NewDay USA Center for Leadership, where GMC students debuted their winning One Act Competition play. This is the first time in the program’s history that the school’s shows were included, colliding the world of developing theatre students with professionals of the craft.
“We support each other that way. It doesn’t change ticket prices, but through Encore! everyone gets promoted with the same level and energy,” said Weaver. “We think it’s working well. At our kickoff show, Encore! members who had never attended a student show were there and families who had never attended a professional show were present at our concert. It overlaps, benefitting every show.”
Members of Encore! receive a membership goal card partnered with Bollywood Tacos, The Brick, and Metropolis.
Members receive 10% off their meals at Bollywood Tacos or Metropolis and on two cocktails or mocktails at The Brick.
“We recognize the members as a very vital part of what we do. They receive early access to tickets, receive benefits from community partnerships like those, and many other membership extras while learning about the intricate work and commitment of our Fine Arts Department,” said Weaver. “The purpose of joining truly is support.”
According to Weaver, the biggest benefit of the Encore! program is promotion across the institution and, since its debut, memberships have doubled.
“We take member input to consider future artists.
We are expanding the type of artists we bring in, like how we started bringing in comedians,” said Weaver. “Our first professional concert, since the rebranding, on Dec. 12 featured Grammy Award-winning gospel legend Yolanda Adams, who also recently made her debut on Broadway, and the Atlanta Pops Orchestra. The community showed an outpour of support for her debut and we had a great turnout.”
Chair of the Encore!
Committee Inez Hawkins, a former part of the volunteer member committee, is actively working with the community and GMC’s Fine Arts Department to decide on shows for next year’s performances. New members to the Encore!
Committee will also be added at the January meeting.
“The new show list for the 2026-27 season should be published by March,” said Weaver. “If anyone is interested in learning more about the program, they can visit the website or reach out to us.”
To learn more, visit alumni.gmc.edu/ special-events/performing- arts-society-membership , call 478-387-4867, or email encore@gmc. edu.