By Van Mitchell
As home of the Armstrong
International Cultural
Foundation’s Performing Arts
Series, it hosts an extensive
schedule of concerts, dance
theater, lectures, and cultural
events throughout the year.
“Our mission is to champion Oklahoma as a world-class center for the arts by bringing monumental cultural experiences to Oklahoma,” Shane Granger, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation said.
The Performing Arts Series features a veritable who’s who of today’s brightest stars in classical, jazz and folk music, as well as theater, classical ballet, folk dance and more.
Performers have included Broadway legends Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O’Hara, vocalists Reneé Fleming and Frederica von Stade, the late conductor Marvin Hamlisch and the late pianist André Watts, violinist Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Romero Guitar Quartet, the Canadian Brass, the Vienna Boys Choir, the Russian National Ballet, NEA Jazz Masters honoree Branford Marsalis and trumpeter Doc Severinsen, among many others.
In 2026, there will be a series of new concerts at the Armstrong Auditorium to kick off the new year.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. one of the finest period ensembles in the world, the Venice Baroque Orchestra returns to the Armstrong stage.
They are teaming up with virtuoso violinist Chouchane Siranossian in a cleverly packaged program of works featuring the violin by Baroque composers from Venice, including Vivaldi, Tartini, Locatelli and Veracini—all gifted at showing off the fireworks of the fiddle.
The VBO and Siranossian won the Diapason d’Or award in 2023 for their recording of this program—named “Album of the Week” by several European radio stations. NDR Kultur commented: “Whoever thought that Baroque music … is very predictable … is deceived and beautifully surprised. A stirring recording.” Pizzicato magazine lauded “the contrasts between dazzling virtuosity and a delicacy that takes one’s breath away ….”
On Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. the Three Italian Tenors—Giovanni Maria Palmia, Ugo Tarquini and Gianni Leccese—present “Italia Musica Amore” (From Italy With Love), an extraordinary program of the most famously beloved Italian opera arias and songs, fusing Italian wit and charm with romanticism, lyricism, dramatic flair and operatic style. This project is the inaugural tour in the United States of this new Italian ensemble.
For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education globally. Its touring initiative has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to over 446 cities in more than 40 countries.
They will be performing on the Armstrong stage on Thursday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Their program “Great American Crooners” focuses on quintessential crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Bobby Darin, whose velvety voices and sentimental serenades made them superstars on stage and on screen. Featuring Robbie Lee and Shenel Johns, who have both graced Jazz at Lincoln Center’s stages and Downbeat Magazine’s #1 Rising Star Male Vocalist, Benny Benack III.
Relive classics like “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Misty,” “I Only Have Eyes for You” and “Moon River,” and enjoy incredible true stories about these legends.
According to Granger, the series continues to grow in popularity and enjoys a broad subscription base of Oklahomans from as far as Weatherford and Tulsa, Enid and Norman. Armstrong offers both full season and flex subscription packages. Its Performing Arts Series runs annually from September to April.
The auditorium seats 823 and is lauded for its near perfect acoustics. Adorned with Swarovski chandeliers, Baccarat crystal candelabra once owned by the Shah of Iran, Appalachian cherry and caramel onyx from Azerbaijan, the palatial auditorium is a veritable “feast for the senses.”
“The best way to describe the Armstrong experience is ‘intimacy’,” Granger said. “Its small size provides an intimate experience in a chamber hall unparalleled in luxurious comfort, acoustic excellence and breathtaking beauty.”
Armstrong’s programming is unique in that it offers audiences the rare opportunity to experience artists for an entire program in an intimate setting, according to Granger. The late pianist André Watts performed an entire solo program of Liszt. Reneé Fleming sang a full-length recital with just piano accompaniment to a full house. “Those are indeed rare, monumental cultural experiences,” he said.
The Armstrong Auditorium has been honored with over a dozen awards, including three RedBud Awards, the state’s highest honor, from the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.
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To purchase tickets, call 1(888)-211-3530 or visit
www.armstrongauditorium.org
