Music at the Mission closes its doors

BY LINDA SMITH HANCHARICK
WEST MILFORD — It's a sad day for those who love and appreciate music here in West Milford.
Music at the Mission, a premier music venue located here in West Milford, is closing.
"It is with sadness, but a great feeling of accomplishment, that the Board of Music at the Mission announces that we are closing the doors," started the statement released last week. "Music at the Mission was one of the best venues for concerts that featured international and national performers, showcases featuring regional performers, and open mics for some of the 'best' to the 'just getting started' performers."
One of those 'best' is Loretta Hagen, an award-winning singer-songwriter who lives in West Milford. Hagen and her husband, Gary, perform at some of the most prestigious music venues around. But she has a special place in her heart for Music at the Mission.
"I saw a poster in the health food store for Music at the Mission shortly after we moved here," said Hagen. "I went to their board meeting and by the next month I joined the board. They gave us an opening for Steve Forbert for their New Year's Eve show. That was our introduction to the Music at the Mission audience."
"Finances and a dwindling audience were the deciding factors in closing.
The lack of financial sustainability in the past few years, due in part to increased entertainment options, have led to our decision," according to the announcement. "For those that supported Music at the Mission since 2002 we want to say “Thank You.” Whether audience members or volunteers, we have great memories and stories to last us quite a while."

What an audience

And what an audience it was. Music at the Mission (MATM) was known for its listeners. In addition to monthly concerts, the Mission also hosted an open mic on the first Saturday of the month. Many open mics are filled with musicians coming to play. The Mission open mics drew musicians from near and far - some coming from south Jersey and surrounding states. What drew them, in addition to the professional sound system, lighting and full stage, was the crowd. People actually came to listen.
"Usually open mics are filled with performers," said Hagen. "We had listeners. The room was crowded with musicians and performers but also crowded with listeners."
"Our true listening room open mics raised the bar for both the audience and performers," said Bernie Stapleton, the current Mission board president. "At the height of our popularity we saw 160 audience members at one of our open mics."

Some history

Music at the Mission first started off at the Episcopal Mission in the Highlands in November, 2002, the brainchild of Sara and Matt Gallmann who wanted to bring good, quality music to the area.
And that they did.
They moved to the West Milford Presbyterian Church in 2004, where the venue stayed until now. The reputation of the Mission spread quickly. Traveling artists stopped in if they were in the area and available, some from as far away as Texas, California and Canada. On a regular basis, players from south Jersey and neighboring states came to play to the packed house at the Mission.
Sara Gallmann also booked the concerts, getting some phenomenal folk acts, including Janis Ian, Roger McGuinn, Richard Shindell, Ellis Paul, Lucy Kaplansky and John Gorka. She stayed on top of music trends. In a 2010 story with the Messenger, she commented that even if people didn't know the artists, they'd come to the shows because they knew they would be good.

A fun food tradition

The Mission had a very cool tradition for its concert performers. The volunteers, but mostly Celeste Stapleton, would cook a pre-concert dinner for the performers and the other volunteers, Hagen said.
"It was so great. Celeste used to make the meals before the show and we'd all sit down together to have dinner and talk," she said.

'All good things come to an end'

Stapleton is proud of the people who founded the Mission and those who volunteered throughout the venues 14-year run.
"When a group of live music lovers got together in 2002 and decided to bring their passion to West Milford, Music At The Mission was born," said Stapleton. "The road to success was filled with all sorts of challenges and we all learned pretty much everything the music venue business demanded. We experienced sold out shows at our concerts featuring national and international performers.
"But I suppose all good things come to an end," he said. "Volunteers dwindled, audiences dwindled, but the passion for some MATM audience members and volunteers never wavered. Unfortunately, expenses continued to rise and entertainment choices diminished our finances to the point of MATM not being financially sustainable. I will say MATM was responsible in a way for contributing to live music, and I hope we see a progressive trend in that area."

Memories don't end

Yes there was great music at the Mission, but for Hagen, the best part was the friendships.
"We had so many great times there. And we met so many talented people," she said. "But the best part was the friends. The friendships lasted. We all still see each other; we're all good friends. There will never be another like Music at the Mission."
Go to westmilfordmessenger.com to share your Music at the Mission memories. And go to the Music at the Mission facebook page to read more of what people are saying.