School names theater after singer Pete Seeger

The high school in Pete Seeger's upstate New York hometown has named its theater after the 93-year-old folk singer and his wife.

A ceremony held Tuesday night unveiled a bronze plaque outside the theater at Beacon High School in Dutchess County's Beacon, N.Y. The plaque identifies the venue as "The Seeger Theatre" and is adorned with an engraving of a banjo, Seeger's signature instrument.

"I think we can say that our whole family ... is tremendously honored by that brass plate," Seeger said at the ceremony.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the school board voted in October to name the theater after Seeger and his wife of nearly 70 years, Toshi. The couple has lived in Beacon for decades and the folk singer helps out local students.

Before the event, Seeger said, "My wife wrote music for children. A lot of kids will be here tonight."

After the dedication ceremony, students performed a musical tribute to the couple, including such Seeger classics as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer."

Seeger still performs in concert. Last November, he joined Arlo Guthrie and the Guthrie family onstage at New York's Carnegie Hall. He also took part in a benefit gig that same month at The Beacon Theater.