The Roxana Rózsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performance Center, located at 550 S. Gary Place just west of Harvard between 5th and 8th Streets on the beautiful University of Tulsa campus, is TU’s showcase facility for the musical and performance arts. Completed in 2011 as part of the Embrace the Future fundraising campaign which raised more than $698,000,000, the building serves as home to the School of Music and the Department of Film Studies. The 77,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility includes the Herbert and Roseline Gussman Concert Hall with seating for 635 on two floors, as well as a full performance stage with ballet floor, scenery fly and trap room, a hydraulic orchestra pit, and the most technologically current theatrical lighting and acoustical control booths.
Upon arriving at the Lorton Performance Center guests enter the 6,000-square-foot Ann and Jack Graves Grand Hall, an elegant and spacious lobby which serves as an art gallery and pre-function space for receptions and similar gatherings. The Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig Recital Hall, located at the north end of the building, accommodates 88 guests in fixed seating with flip-desktops, making this an ideal music and film classroom setting as well as a venue for recitals, meetings, presentations and performances. On the opposite end of the building is the George Kaiser Family Foundation Rehearsal Hall where instrumental music is learned and rehearsed through jazz, percussion, brass and other music studies.
The Lorton Performance Center also houses spacious faculty offices and studios for the School of Music and the Department of Film Studies; specialized rehearsal and practice rooms designed to accommodate groups of various sizes; classrooms and seminar rooms; an electronic piano laboratory; the Dr. Jacob W. Jorishie Practice Suites, individual practice rooms for vocal and instrumental instruction; the Peggy Dow Helmerich Post-Production Lab for film scoring and editing; dressing suites complete with a green room and VIP lounge, as well as shower and laundry facilities; ample space for theatrical set and instrument storage; a costume shop and a scenery staging room; catering kitchen; ticket office; and dramatic colonnade featuring distinctive two-story Gothic arches that overlook a sweeping front lawn leading up to Harvard Avenue.
Many other very generous donors helped complete the most ambitious building project in TU history, enhancing TU’s outreach to the community and further solidifying TU’s mission since 1907 as a cornerstone of Tulsa’s cultural enrichment. The Lorton Performance Center fosters collaboration among artists of all discipline, connecting visitors to TU’s productions with a top-quality experience from the front door to the curtain call. A new season of cultural enrichment awaits for your enjoyment.
Venue Availability
The Lorton Performance Center is available for public use and offers the following services.