Introducing the Noorda, UVU’s new haven for performing artists
Before the spring of 2019, students performed, worked and rehearsed in any space they could find in the crowded Gunther Technology building. Actors pushed aside desks in empty classrooms to rehearse scenes; dancers gave performances in small studio spaces; and musicians had to load their instruments onto a truck and transport them across campus for concerts.
With the opening of The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, 130,000 square feet of performance and teaching space was added to UVU. Among those new additions are seven new performance venues and a production and recording studio. The school also gained 27 new rehearsal spaces.
The completion of the Center signaled the start of UVU’s relationship with the Utah Symphony. The concert hall now serves as the home of the Utah Symphony in Utah County, giving music lovers south of Salt Lake City the chance to see live performances closer to home.
Another exciting addition is the Smith Theatre, a performing space featuring a proscenium stage and an orchestra pit that seats 502 people. The back row in the balcony is only 60 feet away from the stage, so there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
Since the Noorda’s ribbon-cutting in March, UVU has been the site of performances and masterclasses from stars such as Broadway’s Sierra Boggess and Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame.
To find out about upcoming performances and who will be visiting the school this year, follow @TheNoordaCenter on all social media platforms.
Featured photo by Johnny Morris. In the photo, Lexi Walker, freshman, auditions for the upcoming Broadway production of ‘Fly More Than You Fall,’ on Saturday, Feb. 2.
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Olivia is a theater education major who stumbled into journalism. She’s a little too into movies, pop culture, and Oxford commas (against the desires of her editors). She is also very online. ([email protected])