Cultural Opportunities
Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts
Located on the corner of Rose Street and Euclid Avenue, the Singletary Center for the Arts serves as the primary performance facility for the University, as well as for many community and regional events. The Center includes a 1500-seat Concert Hall and a 400-seat Recital Hall, both designed for acoustical excellence.
The Center opened in the fall of 1979 and has hosted an average of 400 events annually, with 123,000 patrons attending each year. In addition to presenting almost 175 annual performances by the School of Music faculty and students, the Center presents three series: the Corner on Classics Series, featuring world-renowned classical musicians; the Turning the Corner Series, featuring traditional artists geared towards university students; and the World Rhythms Series, featuring the finest in African, Hispanic, and Asian culture through performance and a high-spirited cultural marketplace.
The Center is also the primary performance venue of community arts organizations, such as the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Central Kentucky, and the Lexington Men's and Women's Choruses. In addition, the Center houses the Gallery at the President's Room, which showcases regional, local, and student art exhibits. Admission to the Gallery is free.
The Center offers discounts and/or free admission to numerous programs for students, faculty and staff with a valid UKID. For more information, call (859) 257-1706; or visit online at: www.uky.edu/SCFA. For ticket information, call the Center Ticket Office at (859) 257-4929; to buy tickets online, visit: www.uky.edu/SCFA/Events.htm. The Ticket Office is open 12 p.m. to 5 p.m Monday through Thursday, 12 p.m to 6 p.m on Friday, and 12 p.m to 5 p.m on Saturday.
Corner on Classics Series
For a quarter century, the Singletary Center for the Arts has provided students with the best of the classical music world. The Corner on Classics Series, sponsored by the Center and the College of Fine Arts, offers audiences the highest standards of artistic excellence usually found in major metropolitan art centers. Each year, the series features five classical concerts by world-renowned musicians. Past performers include the Canadian Brass, the King's Singers, the Hungarian National Orchestra, and Denyce Graves.
Prior to each performance, doctoral students, professors, or others give lectures with specific relation to the performance. These lectures are exciting and informative, even for people with no musical training. Don't miss the opportunity to see some of the world's best performers right here on UK's campus. UK faculty, staff, and student tickets are sold at discount prices with a valid UKID, both individually and by subscription. Student rush tickets are offered for $8 one hour prior to concerts, upon availability. For more information about the Corner on Classics Series, performers, tickets and dates, call (859) 257-4929; or check out the Web site at: www.uky.edu/SCFA/.
Turning the Corner Series
The Turning the Corner Series was created in 2002 by students for students. By featuring artists that are primarily rooted in the traditional mediums of folk, acoustic, and Americana genres, this series provides UK students with the opportunity to enjoy popular entertainment while experiencing the cultural atmosphere of the UK campus. The series has hosted performers such as Ben Folds, the Indigo Girls, Nickel Creek, and Maroon 5. Students are encouraged to participate in selecting performers. Stop by the Singletary Center with suggestions and stay tuned for announcements regarding the upcoming season selections and ticket release dates. For more information, call (859) 257-1706. For ticket information or to purchase tickets, call (859) 257-4929; or check out the Web site at: www.uky.edu/SCFA/Events.htm.
World Rhythms Series
The new World Rhythms Series premiered in 2003. This series aims to take audiences on a journey through the world of music, dance, and rhythm. Creating a family-friendly atmosphere, the series brings the finest in African, Hispanic, and Asian culture to the Singletary Center. Prior to every performance, a high-spirited cultural marketplace will be created in celebration of arts, crafts, and cultures from around the world. For more information, call (859) 257-1706. For ticket information or to purchase tickets, call (859) 257-4929; or check out our Web site at: www.uky.edu/SCFA/Events.htm.
Theatre
The Department of Theatre offers a variety of productions each year, from classical to contemporary, from provocative to traditional. This range provides stimulating fare for the University and the community.
All University of Kentucky students are eligible to audition for plays. Students may also participate in other theatre-related activities such as wardrobe, scenic, and lighting crews. Students completing assignments on stage or backstage may receive credit through the departmental practicum program.
Auditions and crew assignments are generally made at the beginning of each semester. For more information, students may consult the bulletin board outside the theatre office in the Fine Arts Building.
The Department of Theatre and members of its faculty participate in or are members in the Kentucky Theatre Association, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, the American Theatre in Higher Education, the American Society for Theatre Research, United States Institute for Theatre Technology, and United Scenic Artists.
University Concerts
The School of Music sponsors a variety of recitals and concerts throughout the year by faculty and students. Faculty musical ensembles include the Faculty Brass Quintet and the McCracken Wind Quintet. Student organizations include the Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, the University Choristers and Chorale, the UK Jazz Ensembles, the Percussion Ensemble, the Trombone Choir, the Tuba Ensemble, Opera Theatre, Mega-Sax, Paws and Listen, and the AcoUstiCats.
Faculty recitals, faculty ensemble concerts, and concerts by student organizations are usually free to students, faculty, staff, and to the community.
Chamber Music Society of Central Kentucky
The Chamber Music Society of Central Kentucky offers a series of concerts featuring outstanding chamber music ensembles of national and international reputation. Most performances are held on campus at the Singletary Center for the Arts. Tickets are available individually or by subscription. A limited number of free tickets are available to students with a valid UK ID at the Singletary Center Ticket Office. For ticket information, call (859) 257-4929.
The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra
The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by George Zack and performs regularly in the Concert Hall of the Singletary Center for the Arts. The orchestra plays a varied repertoire and features outstanding guest soloists at each concert. Tickets are available individually or by subscription. A limited number of free tickets are available to students with a valid UK ID at the Singletary Center Ticket Office beginning on the Wednesday prior to each concert. For ticket information, call (859) 233-4226.
Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center
The Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center works to promote a better understanding of and appreciation for the culture and the history of people of African descent. Since the Center first opened its doors in 1986, it has earned an outstanding reputation for its role in the University's efforts to achieve genuine cultural pluralism on the Lexington campus. An annual calendar of events sponsored by the Center typically includes lectures, concerts, theater, dance performances, art exhibits, workshops and seminars, video and film programs. Among the many noteworthy cultural/educational programs the Center has sponsored are concerts by the Boys Choir of Harlem, the Spelman College Jazz Ensemble and Sweet Honey In The Rock; lectures by Ruby Dee, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Na'im Akbar, Nathan McCall, Ruby Dee, Randall Robinson, and Kwame Toure; theater productions which include The Meeting and ZORA: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, and much more.
The King Cultural Center also maintains a collection of books, periodicals, audio and video tapes related to the many diverse aspects of African American culture. It offers a relaxed but stimulating atmosphere, and strives to retain African American students by helping make the campus a more comfortable, inviting environment.
The Center is located in 124 Student Center and is open Monday through Friday from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.
University Art Galleries
The University has four main art galleries. The Tuska Gallery in the Fine Arts Building presents a series of exhibitions each year, including group shows, student exhibitions in various media, and works by major artists. These exhibitions feature painting, drawing, graphic arts, photography and sculpture, as well as experimental forms and media. The Rasdall Gallery in the Student Center is run by a student board and offers similar fare. The Raymond Barnhart Gallery in the Reynolds Building serves students and faculty in the art studio program. The Pence Hall Gallery, under the direction of the College of Architecture, combines exhibits of architectural interest featuring painting, drawing and sculpture.
University of Kentucky Art Museum
The University of Kentucky Art Museum, the second largest in Kentucky, is one of only two such facilities in the state accredited by the American Association of Museums. The museum serves a regional audience of over 400,000 people and offers a wide variety of changing exhibitions, education programs, and permanent collection displays. The collection of more than 3,800 objects includes nineteenth- and twentieth-century European and American works, photographs, decorative arts including a collection of Tiffany glass, Italian Baroque paintings, contemporary and old master prints, African and pre-Columbian sculpture, and regional art.
The museum offers a museum studies course (biennial), training opportunities for work-study and experiential education students, and undergraduate and graduate internships for a limited number of applicants each year. Prearranged group and class tours led by museum volunteers or staff are also welcomed and encouraged. In addition, students are eligible for free museum membership, entitling them to invitations to openings and events and free or discounted museum publications. For information on becoming a student member, visit our Web site at: www.uky.edu/ArtMuseum.
The University of Kentucky Art Museum, located in the Singletary Center for the Arts, is open noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and Friday noon to 8 p.m. (except University holidays). Admission is free.
William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology
The William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology is the major curation facility for archaeological collections in the state. The Museum was founded in 1931 by William S. Webb, and houses many unique collections recovered from archaeological excavations all across the Commonwealth. Every year we welcome researchers from all parts of the world who come to study, photograph and interpret the material culture collections representing 12,000 years of Native American life in Kentucky, and the last 200 years or so of the Commonwealth. Exhibits in Lafferty Hall interpret the culture history of Kentucky's Native peoples for school groups, the University and the regional community. The Museum is open to the public Monday through Friday between 8:30 A.M. and 4 P.M. except when the University is closed. There is no admission charge, and the exhibits are ADA compliant. Researchers are welcome to apply to the Museum for collections access.
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