Where the Art Is


The Schwartz Center in 2008.

51. Where the Art Is

Creativity has always flourished on the Emory campus, but for many years, the arts had no central home. That changed in 2003 with the debut of the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, whose central location at Clifton and North Decatur Roads is a symbol of the vibrant role it plays in university life. Blending academic and performance space, the Schwartz Center’s heart is Emerson Concert Hall, an 825-seat auditorium that attracts some 25,000 guests each year with performances by students, faculty, and a steady series of world-renowned guest artists. The center’s theater lab, dance studio, and multiple rehearsal rooms provide dedicated space to the thousands of students engaged in arts education and performance.

52. All That’s Jazz

Emory’s jazz program is a hidden gem. Led by Gary Motley, a show-stopping pianist who has performed with such legends as Benny Golson and Dave Brubeck, with help from Dwight Andrews, a composer and scholar of African American music whose work has been heard in movies and TV shows, the comprehensive program serves about 40 jazz students. Altogether, nearly 2,000 students each year are involved in the Department of Music, whether they are music majors or members of one of the various performance ensembles.


46. Divine Inspiration

Speaking to celebrations of the spirit and transformations of the soul, the vibrant paintings and colorful serigraphs of artist John August Swanson grace the walls of Emory’s Candler School of Theology, the Center for Ethics, and Cannon Chapel. Candler holds the largest collection of Swanson’s art, which also can be found in the Smithsonian and the Vatican.

53. Arts Attraction

Last year, more than 100,000 people attended arts events at Emory.


54. House Music

The Daniel Jaeckel Op.45 Organ in Emerson Concert Hall weighs 14 tons and towers 36 feet above the stage. Designed expressly for Emory, the organ’s construction blends European techniques and traditions of centuries ago. “It is a huge asset for us at Emory,” said University Organist Timothy Albrecht when it was installed in 2005, “and it will undoubtedly prove to be one of the major organ venues in Atlanta and the Southeast.”

55. Live In Concert

Now in its 43rd season, the Flora Glenn Candler Concert Series has brought hundreds of stellar artists and performances to campus including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, and the Vega String Quartet.

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Our next category of note: Creative Campus.

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