The Pasadena Boys & Girls Club celebrated National Boys & Girl Club Week on Thursday night with a musical recital highlighting its performing arts center on East Del Mar Boulevard.

“One of the things that makes our Boys & Girls Club unique among the 27 in the L.A. area is that we have a performing arts program and that we have our own building for performing arts,” said Club Interim Executive Director Mitch Dorger.

The evening was “a little celebration of something special that we do for the community,” Dorger said.

Pasadena City Councilmember Gene Masuda joined Wendy Gordon from State Assemblymember Chris Holden’s office, Club board members and parents whose children are in the program to watch the young musicians perform.

After remarks by Dorger and Board Chair Nancy Spears, Club Music Director Hope Kikuchi introduced her young charges one by one and each performed.

“We’d love to get more kids in the program,” Dorger said. “We think we have a unique capability here that’s really underutilized. We’d like to see more kids come and take advantage of this unique program. The fees are a fraction of what you would pay for private one-on-one music lessons.”

Interested parents should contact the Slavik branch of the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena at (626)449-1953 or visit the Club’s website at www.bgcpasadena.org/. Children who apply may be from 6 to 18 years of age and must be Boys & Girls Club members.