The Ferguson Center for the Arts is a theater and concert hall on the campus of

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1960 as Christopher Newport College, an extension school of the College of William and Mary for mid-career working professiona ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States. The complex fully opened in September 2005 with two concert halls and many other facilities.

Performing arts venues

The Ferguson Center for the Arts contains three distinct, separate concert halls: the Diamonstein Concert Hall, the Peebles Theater, and the Studio Theater.

Diamonstein Concert Hall

Diamonstein Concert Hall is the flagship auditorium in the complex. The hall is acoustically engineered so that anyone on stage can be heard from any seat without a microphone. The hall has 1,725 seats.

Peebles Theater

A 453-seat theater in the Ferguson Center for the Arts complex.

The Studio Theater

A 200-seat theater in the Ferguson Center for the Arts complex.

Other facilities

The building also contains rehearsal halls, a dance studio, full scenery, prop and costume shops, arts studios, Ferguson Hall Art Gallery, the Falk Gallery, music practice rooms, and many educational classrooms and other learning areas. The majority of these rooms opened in the Fall of 2005.

History

Formerly, the Ferguson High School was located at 1 University Place. The name "Ferguson" is well known in the Newport News area because Homer L. Ferguson was the President of the nearby

Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...

. The high school was named after him. Additionally, Newport News is home to the corporate headquarters of Ferguson Enterprises, a leading plumbing-supply company. Ferguson Enterprises sponsored the construction of the center, and was granted naming rights as a result of their contribution.

Construction

The Ferguson Center was designed by Henry N. Cobb of

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an American architectural firm based in New York City, founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei and other associates.

. The center was constructed in two phases. The first phase of construction was completed in the summer months of 2004. The first phase completed the 440 seat Music and Theater Hall and a 200-seat Studio Theater. The second phase of construction was completed a year later. This added a 1,700-seat Concert Hall that was acoustically designed for stage performance. Most likely, when "The Ferguson Center" is mentioned outside of

, this is what is being referred to. The construction was led by two opening acts. Tony Bennett performed in the Music and Theater hall on September 1, 2004. During the show,

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

remarked: "They don't make theaters like this anymore!". Actor and singer

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

opened the Concert Hall on September 12, 2005. The

New York Pops The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States, and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led by Music Director Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an ann ...

accompanied him that night. FergusonCenterPanorama02

Criticism

As theater plans and construction progressed, there was criticism within the CNU community, that money being spent on the project could be better spent in different academic ways. The university originally planned that the Ferguson Center would be unavailable for use by the university's music and theater departments, and any other non-administrative function on campus. The idea was to simply have a concert hall on campus. This policy was removed, and the

’s theater, music and art departments are now housed in the center academic section of the building, This is the section of the building between the Concert Hall, and the Music and Theatre Hall.

External links

The Ferguson Center for the Arts
Official Website

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

References

* Ferguson Center for the Arts Playbills for

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...

and the

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of th ...

(2007)
The Ferguson Center for the Arts
Official Website (2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson Center For The Arts Theatres in Virginia University and college arts centers in the United States Christopher Newport University Concert halls in the United States Buildings and structures in Newport News, Virginia Culture of Newport News, Virginia Tourist attractions in Newport News, Virginia 2005 establishments in Virginia Performing arts centers in Virginia Art museums and galleries in Virginia