Executive director of the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center speaking at Auburn Family Friday Speaker Series

Article body

The executive director of the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center, Christopher Heacox, will continue the Auburn Family Friday Speaker Series at 3 p.m. Friday at the new facility located at 910 S. College St., Auburn. Tours of the lobby, theatre and backstage area will be given at 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Heacox will take attendees behind the curtain as he discusses what it takes to open an 85,000-square-foot venue from construction to headlining performances. Those who attend will also have the opportunity to tour the new performing arts center.

“We’re always excited to welcome the Auburn Family and friends to the Gogue Center,” Heacox said. “This is an incredible opportunity for us to showcase our new world-class facility and to share more about our upcoming inaugural season with the alumni and fans who will be in town.”

The Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center fulfills the Gogues’ vision for a world-class performing arts center at Auburn University. Their passion for the arts inspired 1957 Auburn graduates John and Rosemary Brown to commit $25 million of their historic $57 million gift to Auburn toward creating the center.

The Gogue Performing Arts Center is located across from the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, creating a new arts district for the university, community and region. Programming in the new center includes a wide range of high-quality artistic opportunities—from nationally touring Broadway productions to opera, dance, orchestra and symphony performances, to student and faculty music and theater performances. A full lineup is available online at https://www.goguecenter.auburn.edu/.

A Grand Opening Festival was held Aug. 22-25 and included a free concert for Auburn students, faculty and staff headlined by LANY with special guest COIN; a sold-out performance by Grammy Award winners Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit with special guest Molly Tuttle; a black-tie fête featuring Michael Feinstein and Friends with Storm Large and special guests Santiago Ballerini and Jeremy Samolesky; and a community day with outdoor activities and performances by local and regional artists.

Heacox is responsible for the artistic, administrative and philanthropic direction of the center. His work in performing arts spans more than 15 years, and he is currently a member of the board of directors for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, which serves as the national service, advocacy and membership organization for the performing arts presenting field. He has also been involved with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Consortium, South Arts Southern Presenters Consortium, Tallahassee/Leon County Cultural Plan Review Committee and Council on Culture and Arts Board of Directors, STAGE Committee for the Capital City Amphitheatre, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Strategic Planning Team, Opportunity Tallahassee and Leadership Jacksonville.

After studying saxophone performance at Florida State University, Heacox attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned a master’s degree in jazz and contemporary media.

For more information on Friday’s event and the remainder of the speaker series, go to http://ocm.auburn.edu/speaker_series/.

 

Related Media

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.