South Shore Conservatory One of the First to Perform in the Space
December 19, 2023 By Amanda Cease, Cardinal Cushing Centers
Jerry Seelen, a resident of Hersey Street, has been a local architect since 1991, when he partnered with Dennis Roth and opened architecture firm Roth & Seelen, Inc. Since then, the firm has designed numerous corporate and institutional buildings – many of which Hinghamites pass every day. Best Chevrolet, Hingham Town Hall, and South Shore Educational Collaborative, to name a few. Recently, however, he attended the unveiling of a space he designed that might not be his largest project, but one that he and his family will enjoy in a very unexpected way.
Jerry is not only an architect, but he’s also a father. He and his wife, Johanna, have a son Nat, who is a musician, a daughter Charlotte, a teacher at Foster Elementary who is an avid concert goer, and a second son Nick, who was born with Cerebral Palsy and – while non-verbal himself – is a massive music and performing arts fan. The Seelens have done everything possible to ensure that Nick lives his life to the absolute fullest – including feeding his passion for the arts, and encouraging his love for engaging with the world. For anyone who has ever attended Hingham’s famous July 4th Road Race, you’ve likely seen Jerry pushing Nick to the finish line!
Fast forward to 2022, when Jerry began a project for Cardinal Cushing Centers, an organization with several locations on the South Shore that serves people of “all ages, all abilities, all together.” He was hired by Cushing to renovate its auditorium – which had been originally built back in the 1950’s. “Cushing’s auditorium needed a major overhaul to support our vibrant performing arts programs,” remembers Michelle Markowitz, President and CEO. “We had a vision of using the space for several purposes – not just for our performances but also for corporate events and meetings, neighborhood movie nights, and as a resource for other organizations that share in our mission.” Jerry, along with contractor Jim Balsamo, worked with Cushing to totally reimagine the space – making it accessible for Cushing participants and the community at large. Thanks to Cushing’s generous donors, this new auditorium (including a state-of-the-art wheelchair lift to get performers to the stage) was unveiled on Nov 15, 2023.
Life Comes Full Circle: As Jerry was completing the project for Cushing, he got exciting news. “Unbeknownst to me, it turns out that my son Nick, who is a member of the South Shore Conservatory chorus “Community Voices Too!,” will be one of the very first groups to perform here in Cushing’s new space,” revealed Jerry in his speech at the Cardinal Cushing Centers auditorium unveiling. “It is thrilling for me and my wife, knowing that my collaboration on this project will not only positively affect this South Shore Neighborhood, but also us personally.”
South Shore Conservatory’s “Community Voices” programs – with choruses out of both Hingham and Duxbury campuses – has been around for over 10 years and is just one of many programs that fall under the umbrella of “Creative Arts Therapies,” or CAT. CAT was started by previous SSC employee Eve Montague, who helped develop an array of performing arts programs that would be accessible to people with various disabilities, including intellectual and physical disabilities, those who suffer from memory loss, and more. These programs, which serve nearly 1000 individuals on the South Shore, include Dance Therapy, 1 to 1 Music Therapists, Drum Circles, Memory Café, Yoga for the Special Child, and Community Voices, to name a few.
For more information about Cardinal Cushing Centers new auditorium space, please call 781-826-6371 or visit www.cushingcenters.org for general information. To learn more about Community Voices or other CAT programs, please contact Kristi Faby at k.faby@sscmusic.org.