The Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center (ASC) is a performing arts facility located on the campus of the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

( UAB). It hosts over 250,000 people for more than 300 diverse events annually. The ASC is the center for entertainment and arts education in Birmingham and

Central Alabama Central Alabama is a region in the state of Alabama. It is sometimes considered part of North Alabama because both regions are mountainous, but in some definitions they are different regions. The Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachians con ...

. The facility houses four performance venues, including the 1,330-seat Jemison Concert Hall, the 350-seat Sirote Theatre, the intimate 170-seat Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall, and the black-box Odess Theatre. The ASC hosts a wide variety of events each year, in every field of artistic endeavor, from classical music, to jazz, to theatre and visual arts. Jazz programming offered by the ASC has included

Diane Schuur Diane Joan Schuur (born December 10, 1953), nicknamed "Deedles", is an American jazz singer and pianist. As of 2015, Schuur had released 23 albums, and had extended her jazz repertoire to include essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music ...

, Branford Marsalis, the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

, and the UAB SuperJazz Big Band. Classical concerts have included Itzhak Perlman and major European orchestras. The ASC is the official home of the

Alabama Symphony Orchestra The Alabama Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra based in Birmingham, Alabama. The orchestra's resident and principal conductor is Christopher Confessore. The Orchestra was first formed in April 1921 but had to close because of financial issu ...

. The ASC often collaborates with other local arts organizations, such as the Birmingham Music Club and the

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHF) was founded in 1978, and opened a museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and dis ...

to present concerts and educational programs, such as the Fun With Jazz Educational Program. The Alys Stephens Center is also a venue for live recordings, including ''"Gospel Goes Classical,"'' produced by UAB music professor

Henry Panion Henry Panion, III is an American composer, arranger, conductor, educator, and Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Panion has produced, arranged and conducted for a number of noted artists, such as ...

, and ''" UAB SuperJazz, Featuring Ellis Marsalis,"'' co-produced by

and former UAB Director of Jazz Ensembles,

Ray Reach Raymond Everett Reach, Jr. (born August 3, 1948) is an American pianist, vocalist, guitarist, composer, arranger, music producer, and educator, named by AL.com as one of "30 Alabamians who changed jazz history." He serves as President and CEO o ...

External links

*http://www.alysstephens.org/ University of Alabama at Birmingham University and college arts centers in the United States Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama Tourist attractions in Birmingham, Alabama Performing arts centers in Alabama Stephens family {{Alabama-struct-stub

See also

External links