By the Numbers
Former Brooks Center Director and Professor Emerita Lillian “Mickey” Harder was honored with the highest civilian award in the state of South Carolina in Spring 2024 for her lifetime of dedication to the arts. The Order of the Palmetto, established in 1971, recognizes citizens for extraordinary lifetime service and achievements of national or statewide significance. Harder taught in the Department of Performing Arts for 24 years, began an endowed chamber music series in memory of her late parents, served as the director of the Brooks Center for 21 years and was named an honorary alumna of Clemson University in 2017. She and her husband, Byron Harder, established an endowment to create the Lillian and Robert Utsey Chamber Music Series at Clemson in 1986, the only endowed chamber music series in South Carolina. The endowment stipulates that concerts remain admission-free for all. Since 2003, recordings of the Utsey Chamber Music Series have been broadcast more than 100 times on National Public Radio’s (NPR) “Performance Today,” the most popular daily classical music radio program in the United States, reaching more than 26 million listeners.
Total attendance at all Brooks Center, Bellamy Theatre and off-campus events
36,891
K-12 children attended Tri-ART education performances
9,033
68
Total arts performances
29
Total outreach events
The CU Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Visiting Assistant Professor Kimberly Souther pose for a photo with an appreciative Brooks Theatre audience during their April 16 concert.
Brooks Center director emerita awarded Order of the Palmetto
Brooks Center celebrates its 30th season
Brooks Center for the Performing Arts recognized as one of nation’s Best College Theaters The Brooks Center for the Performing Arts was named one of the 20 Best College Theaters in the U.S. by College Rank for its architectural design, world-class performances and other unique features in February 2024. The No. 13 ranking placed Clemson University ahead of the University of Florida, Penn State University and the University of Maryland. The ranking summary noted that the center’s architecture “is infused with a modern flair” and that “it continues to be a jewel in Clemson University’s crown.”
From iconic Broadway hits to family-friendly favorites, from triumphant orchestral masterworks to the invigorating energy of tap, the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts brought an array of top-tier talent to the Clemson campus and community for the 2023-24 season. In its first full season under the leadership of Executive Director Janice Crews, the center welcomed artists and acts including Ulysses Owens Jr. and Generation Y, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical,” the Peking Acrobats and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. The Brooks Center for the Performing Arts was established exactly 30 years ago through the determination and generosity of students, faculty, staff and the Clemson community. This 87,000-square-foot facility has served as a professional roadhouse for three decades, hosting world-class professional music, theatre and dance performances throughout the academic year in its spacious yet intimate 979-seat proscenium auditorium.
The Brooks Center and the College of Arts and Humanities spearheaded Clemson University’s celebration of Women’s History Month with three performances of the classic American story, “Little Women,” along with other themed events. The Clemson Players put on three shows of the “Little Women” adaptation by Kate Hamill in the Brooks Center Auditorium in March 2024. College of Arts and Humanities Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Michael LeMahieu’s One Big Book class (HUM 3060) incorporated the classic 1868 novel into his course, as did other University classes. Louisa May Alcott scholar Gregory Eiselein of Kansas State University was on campus for a guest lecture on all things “Little Women,” and Clemson’s World Cinema program publicly screened director Greta Gerwig’s 2019 Academy Award-nominated film adaptation of the book in the Watt Family Innovation Center Auditorium.
# 13
College Rank names Brooks Center for the Performing Arts to their list of 20 Best College Theaters in 2024.
‘Little Women’ events highlighted Women’s History Month in Clemson
No. 1 Student Experience
No. 1 Student Experience
8
9
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker