Who We Are + What We Do

Founded in 2005, Aiken Performing Arts (APA) is proud to be an integral part of the performing arts scene in Aiken, consistently presenting world-class live entertainment to sold-out audiences and receiving rave reviews!

Chartered with a two-fold mission of presenting quality professional artists to audiences in a theater setting and providing quality educational outreach programs to students in the greater Aiken community, APA has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams.

Over the years, APA has presented outstanding shows from all genres of music – including classical, jazz, brass, chamber, bluegrass, big band, Broadway, ethnic, rock and roll, and oldies – performed by nationally and internationally acclaimed individual vocalists and instrumentalists, bands and full orchestras. Dance, comedy, satire and variety programs have also been on the bill.

The artists presented at the theater have also performed outstanding educational outreach programs for many hundreds of Aiken County students, either at the theater or in the schools, sometimes traveling many miles on very little sleep and performing in very challenging circumstances. They have never failed to provide their best, and always garner standing ovations from these student audiences.

With the “Instruments in Your Attic” program, APA has collected gently used instruments from the community, refurbished them and donated them to schools in need of that particular instrument. Hundreds of instruments, from guitars to flutes to pianos to trumpets, have found new homes with worthy students in Aiken County.

APA truly is a major contributor to the quality of life in Aiken and its surrounding communities and is one of the largest providers of educational outreach programming in the CSRA. The organization is an important contributor to the image of Aiken as a good place to live and do business. APA impacts both the cultural and economic vitality of the greater Aiken area.

Aiken Performing Arts Group, Inc. (APA) is a volunteer not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization.

Board of Directors 

Anthony Ateca,
President

Dr. Forest E. Mahan,
Executive Vice President

Dennis Duerksen,
Vice President of Operations

Steve Salzman,
CFO /Treasurer

Kerry Dunn,
Secretary

Juanita Campbell
Jody Duggan
Dara Glass
Cory Herbst
Dr. Mark Hollingsworth
Stan Jackson
James Moore
Mary Staggs

Cathy Traver,
Executive Director

Becca Hartsell
Arts Administrator

Director Emeriti:
Thomas Abbott, Robert Barnett, Doris Begley, Sandy Costanzo, Beverley Zigelman,

In Memoriam of APA Founder,
Thomas Hofstetter (1932-2022)