Anne Dean Turk Performing Arts Center
The Anne Dean Turk Performing Arts Center also called the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center is a performing arts venue and art museum located on the campus of Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas. The center houses the Anne Dean Turk Art Gallery and the Van Cliburn Auditorium, and serves as the home for the college's visual and performing arts departments. It is also the primary venue for the professional Texas Shakespeare Festival.
History
The facility's primary performance space, the Van Cliburn Auditorium, was constructed in 1966. The building was originally known as the Applied Arts Building.On December 9, 1989, the building was renamed in honor of Anne Dean Turk, a distinguished faculty member who taught piano, music theory, and piano ensemble at Kilgore College from 1946 until her retirement in 1982. Turk was an alumna of The University of Texas at Austin, the Juilliard School, and Columbia University. During her tenure at Kilgore College, she founded a Piano Concerto Program that provided students the rare opportunity to perform with a professional orchestra, a unique feature for a two-year college. In 1981, the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation named her a "Piper Professor" in recognition of her outstanding teaching.
The center's auditorium is named for the world-renowned concert pianist Van Cliburn. While Cliburn was not an alumnus, Kilgore College has honored his legacy through the naming of the venue and by offering music scholarships in his name. In 2013, following the deaths of both Turk and Cliburn, the Kilgore College Piano Division hosted a memorial concert in their honor at the auditorium.
Facilities
Van Cliburn Auditorium
The Van Cliburn Auditorium is an intimate, 220-seat indoor theatre. It features a flexible proscenium stage measuring approximately 30 by 30 feet, an orchestra pit, and a fly loft with 26 line sets. The facility is equipped with a walkable lighting balcony and underwent an upgrade to its dimmer rack and control board in 2010.The auditorium is the primary performance space for the Kilgore College Theatre Department and serves as the home of the Texas Shakespeare Festival. It also hosts concerts by the college's musical ensembles, including the KC Connection choir and the Wind Symphony.