Lorton Performance Center

World-Class Music Venue on the Horizon

Plans are underway to build a world-class venue where students and faculty from the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences can showcase their award-winning talents. The Roxana Rozsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performance Center will house a large performance hall, and state-of-the-art classrooms and practice rooms. University officials are completing fundraising for the 70,000-square-foot facility, which will be TU's next major campus construction project.

"This will be a building that's lived in and can be utilized for more than just a performance here and there," said Tom Benediktson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "I'm just delighted. This is the first building erected for arts and sciences since Kendall Hall in the 1970's."

The School of Music has historical roots in Tyrrell Hall, with residency dating back to Tyrrell's construction in 1929. The new facility will utilized the same stately Tennessee ledge stone used throughout campus as an homage to the University's past, but will contain modern amenities to strengthen the future of TU's performance programs. The facility also will house the emerging Film Studies program at TU.

The Lorton Performance Center is a much needed campus addition, and TU officials plan to develop it as a multipurpose hub for the campus and the Tulsa community. Not only will musical and theatrical performances be held in the new venue, but TU can also host speaking engagements for renowned figures and large audiences. The 6,000-square-foot lobby will seat 200 for dinner and entertainment and will double as art exhibit space.

"This will be a further opportunity to bring TU together with the community, which is incredibly vital and mutually beneficial to everyone," Benediktson said.

The main, two-level auditorium, which will seat more than 700, will feature a large stage and full orchestra pit. The auditorium will be flanked on one side by a dual-purpose hall for recitals and chorus rehearsals and instrumental ensemble area on the other. The first floor also features storage areas for theater, pianos and costumes, as well as 15 practice rooms.

The second floor will feature music faculty offices, each housing a grand piano; seminar and conference rooms; classrooms; and film studies production and editing labs. Film studies offices are included.

The music program's current facilities in Tyrrell Hall don't have adequate space for rehearsals, performances, classrooms and offices, or proper acoustics. The program is also disjointed in terms of vicinity to its storage facilities, which are in various spaces across campus. The new building will create a sense of unity to the music program.

Once ground is broken, it is expected to take about two years to construct the center. When it opens its doors, the center will not only add more art and culture to campus life, but will increase the talent pipeline. The Roxana Rozsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performance Center will enable an ambitious program to have an equally ambitious facility in which to practice, learn and perform.

The Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences provides students with a broad foundation of study in the fine and performing arts, humanities, languages and social sciences. The college offers more than 38 major areas of study in disciplines as diverse as the fine arts, communication, film studies, languages, organizational studies and psychology.

Students have the opportunity to conduct research in their specific area of interest under the close guidance of our world class professors, or to structure an independent study course specifically tailored to their academic and career goals.

Students may take advantage of our public service internships which offer opportunities for career exploration and promote community participation. Placements have been made with Oklahoma's U.S. senators, Planned Student LifeParenthood, City Utilities Authority, Tulsa Opera, H. A. Chapman Institute of Medical Genetics, Habitat for Humanity, Indian Health Care Resource Center, League of Women Voters, Oklahoma International Export Services, Tulsa Ballet Theatre and Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

Above all, students gain a solid foundation by participating in the college's nationally recognized Tulsa Curriculum, which engages them in significant books and ideas of Western and other cultures, and by emphasizing critical thinking and clear writing; enable them to analyze what they study and to communicate their own ideas more effectively.

Upon completion, our graduates are prepared to enter into careers such as deaf, music, elementary, and secondary education, graphic design, film, communications and social work or pursue graduate studies.