chandler photograph by bruce vanwyngarden; others courtesy gpac
Paul Chandler surrounded by images of the Highland Capital Performance Hall (top left), the Highland Stage at The Grove (top right) and audiences enjoying GPAC performances.
Thirty years ago this month — November 19, 1994 — Ray Charles became the first artist to take the stage at the then-new Germantown Performing Arts Center. A poster advertising the event still graces the venue’s box office, and a photograph of Charles hangs in GPAC executive director Paul Chandler’s office.
photograph courtesy GPAC
Paul with his wife, Jennifer Chandler.
“Back then,” says Chandler, “people used to talk about the ‘wall’ at the border between Germantown and Memphis. I used to tell my friends in Memphis, ‘There are only two cool things in Germantown: Bosco’s and GPAC.’ It’s obviously not that way any longer and I feel like GPAC played a big part in helping the wall disappear.”
Programming was eclectic in the early years. Season One featured such acts as classical guitarist Christopher Parkening, the American Indian Dance Theatre, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, the off-Broadway musical revue Forever Plaid, and violin maestro Itzhak Perlman. These days the season lineups are still varied, but GPAC has grown and matured over three decades. The headliners are bigger and the diversity and scope of its programming have expanded dramatically. “Find Your Center” is the organization’s marketing slogan, and GPAC has done just that — finding a successful sweet spot in the Memphis area’s entertainment offerings.
photograph courtesy gpac
Stars who have performed at GPAC include Belinda Carlisle.
That success in no small measure is the result of Chandler. He’s been executive director since 2012, but it’s his third stint with GPAC. He initially left the organization in 2001 to help form the Resource Entertainment Group, where he helped create the still-thriving Live at the Garden concert series at Memphis Botanic Garden. Chandler returned to GPAC as interim director for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, before returning again for good as executive director seven seasons later.
“When I arrived in 2012, the place was in good order,” Chandler says. “It had a solid jazz audience, and the Iris Orchestra, which was founded here, was also in a good place. Classical music and jazz were very strong. Through an association I’d developed with a producer in New York, I was able to bring in Lyle Lovett my first year back and people were like, ‘Is he country? Who is he?’ He’s a poet, and a remarkable performer.”
photograph courtesy GPAC
Chandler with Dr. John.
Chandler remembers that show as “a sophisticated act. We sold out instantly and it brought out a lot of Memphians who had never been to this space. We got their attention. And we got the attention of Duncan Williams Asset Management, which gave us financial support that lasted 11 years and helped us bring in acts this organization couldn’t before.”
The number of acts and activities happening under the aegis of GPAC expanded dramatically again with the 2020 opening of The Grove, the organization’s grand outdoor facility. As readers may recall, 2020 was not a great year to open anything, least of all a performing-arts venue.
photograph courtesy GPAC
Chandler with Robert Earl Keen, Jennifer Chandler, and Lyle Lovett.
“I was sitting in my office in an empty building, on Zoom with contractors all day long,” Chandler remembers. “When The Grove was ready in June, the Shelby County Health Department gave us approval to have outdoor events for 10 people! So we invited board members and their families to come. We had this great outdoor space and a giant video wall, so we could show movies and concert films and not have to pay bands.”
The number of people allowed to attend slowly increased. “By August,” he says, “the health department said we could have 125 people, so we started having shows five nights a week — anything to stay open, to keep people working, to stay relevant during the pandemic. I like to say that The Grove saved us.”
This season, GPAC has a new principal funder: Highland Capital Management. “Highland Capital has pledged more than $100,000 per year for five years,” says Chandler. “It’s the largest annual contribution in the history of the organization. We’re very grateful.”
photograph by patrick lawton
The bustling GPAC lobby.
And Chandler is grateful to have found a career and a life that suits him. He and his wife, Jennifer Chandler — the food editor for The Daily Memphian — have two daughters, Hannah and Sarah. He is an avid fly-fisherman, a gardener, an amateur chef — and a thoughtful man.
“It was about 10 years ago that I started becoming more self-aware,” he says. “It started with someone saying to me, ‘You’re an empathic person.’ I looked it up and it means I have an ability to sense how someone is feeling, no matter what they’re saying. I realized that during a performance I spend more time and attention observing and listening to the audience rather than what’s on-stage. I’m listening for moments when they hold their breath, when the performance has moved them. I’m reading the energy from the audience.
“I came to realize that I’m not really an arts guy. I love music but I’m not an audiophile with a big vinyl collection. I’m a producer. I like being responsible for helping to create something that people enjoy. I like it when people around me are happy. That’s who I am.”
Spoken like a man who’s found his center.
For a complete schedule of upcoming events, go to gpacweb.com
