Contact us

Monday to Friday
from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

514-598-8496

or Send us a message
About


"As fine a hall as the Salzburg Festspiel Haus and
better than the San Francisco Opera House . . ." Spoken by Heinrich Keilholz, an
acoustical engineer from Hamburg, Germany, these words are in praise of John R. Emens
College-Community Auditorium.
Ball State University's sixth president, John R.
Emens (1945-1968), had a dream. He envisioned a "campus of the future" complete
with an auditorium "large enough to house most college functions as well as major
symphonies, Broadway productions, ballets, and other forms of entertainment for Muncie and
east central Indiana audiences."
Planning for the auditorium began as
early as 1947, but the U-shaped building was not actually built until 1961. The structure
includes the Hargreeves Music Building, Arts and Communications Building, and the 410-seat
University Theatre.
Emens' dream was finally realized on March 14-15, 1964,
when the auditorium gave its first performances in the form of a "sneak
preview," and then it was officially dedicated on Oct. 25 the same year.
In its first 25 years alone, more than 3.6 million people visited the then 3,581-seat
auditorium to see 2,335 programs. The legendary acoustic, scalloped ceiling, and
state-of-the-art sound capabilities of Emens Auditorium account for the attraction of many
artists to performing in this facility.
Since the grand opening in 1964, many
world renowned artists, individuals, musicians, and shows have graced the stage of
Emens Auditorium. Legendary performances range from President Ford, David Letterman,
Stevie Wonder, Louis Armstrong, Victor Borge, Magician David Copperfield, comedian Adam
Sandler, musical Cats and Les Miserables, Red Skelton, B. B. King, The Temptations, Third
Eye Blind, and the Dixie Chicks.
Bill Cosby could not have said it better
after a performance in 1969: "This is the greatest hall I have ever played . . . the
greatest acoustics."