Just a little over a year ago Dartmouth's own "ambassador" to the arts first arrived on campus with a mission.
Imbued by an "almost religious fervor," Margaret Lawrence, programming director at the Hopkins Center, immediately set out "to inspire and educate" the College and its surrounding communities by creating a season of dynamic programming.
Taking into consideration such issues as the geographically isolated nature of the campus and the Hop's excellent history of guest performers, Lawrence hoped to attract a diverse group of high-caliber artists.
So far the season has produced eleven sellouts such as the Joshua Redman Band, Mummenshancz and most recently, Tharp! and has generated 81 percent of the ticket revenue of this fiscal year.
Lewis Crickard, director of the Hop, attributes the season's strong success to the energetic, rosy-cheeked Lawrence.
"All of this year's season programming was contracted and conceived by her."
This season's excellent box office business may be anchored by Lawrence's sense of "balance." She searches for "leading artists of our time" who can "open up people's imagination" rather than alientating them with their artistry.
Rolf Olsen, director of marketing and publicity at the Hop, said Lawrence also posseses a "brilliant, aesthetic awareness not only of the country but of the world" that further enhances the level of quality of programming.
Lawrence has coordinated events such as the International Puppet Festival and an upcoming concert by a Mongolian singing group.
She stays current by drawing upon many resources including the people in her field, "a close-knit network of arts presenters," who share news about the latest acts. Art magazines and newspapers like The New York Times also provide Lawrence with an up-to-date arts and entertainment database.
When her schedule and "finite budget" allow, Lawrence drives south to catch live performances in Boston and New York for herself.
But for the most part, Lawrence works from a busy office outfitted with facsimilie and e-mail. With an ear perpetually glued to the phone, Lawrence discusses potential events with artists or their managers.
Many managers send videos and press packets showcasing their rosters of clients, Lawrence said, motioning to a hefty day's worth pile of mail on her table.
Sometimes Lawrence must turn down the manager doggedly selling her clients when she deems content or context incongrous with her vision of the season.
Then there are times when she receives an offer she cannot afford to pass up, such as next month's White Oak Dance Project headed by famed ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshinokov.
Olsen called the dance troupe's selection of Dartmouth as their choice of venue not only a "tribute to the historic depth of quality" at the Hop but a "tribute" to Lawrence's outstanding capacities.
Lawrence hopes all students and faculty will take advantage of the Hop's offerings as much as the four curricular departments connected with the Hop -- Studio Art, Film Studies, Music, and Drama.
"I want [the Hop] to be used as much as the library," she said.
Lawrence was delighted when the math department hosted a tea for Josh Kornbluth whose one-man show chronicled, among other things, freshman calculus class.
Outside of programming, Lawrence is also an ardent supporter of student involvement in the arts.
She founded the Student Arts Council to "ensure that the Hop takes into account feedback from the students institutionally." A sub-committee on marketing gauges the effect of the Hop program upon students. "Drawn from a wide spectrum of students," the committee includes members of the Irish Club and La Alianza Latina.
Lawrence also acts as the Hop liaison for for the Hop's nine student performing ensembles -- the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, the Chamber Singers, the Dartmouth Wind Symphony, the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, the Glee Club, the Gospel Choir, the Handel Society, the Dartmouth Marching Band and the World Music Percussion Ensemble.
As liaison, she "works with them logistically," scheduling all concert dates and encouraging them to take unique approaches in their programming.
The DSO, for example, will commission and perform a piece by a female composer in honor of the 25th anniversary of Dartmouth's decision to go co-ed.
As a musician of many years, playing the violin and the piano, Lawrence was "already committed to the arts" when she entered her first year at University of California, Berkeley.
During college, the Phi Beta Kappa member and double major in Anthropology and Humanities, became involved in virtually every aspect of arts programming ranging from security to sales to marketing.
She discovered one could still be creative "without being Itzhak Perlman" by working behind the scenes.
"You can make all kinds of extraordinary things happen."
Lawrence became the leader of the college's Student Committe for the Arts at the encouragement of an "inspirational person" from "the arts presenting institution at Cal."
"The moment I took ownership" of the job "it resonated with who I was."
As a testament to the effectiveness of the word-of-mouth arts network, the freshly-out-of-college Lawrence was quickly offered the position of assistant director of programming at a city-run arts center in Eugene, Oregon at the suggestion of the "inspirational person."
