» Facilities and Venues

We’re committed: committed to our students, committed to dance and committed to making sure our students have access to the best dance facilities. That’s why we’ve recently built a brand-new dance center.

The Sandi Simon Center for Dance supports the vibrant dance community at Chapman. You’ll practice, perform, and choreograph in one of several large studio spaces. The new facility also features classrooms, study spaces and a student lounge.

Covering 88,000 breathtaking square feet, Musco Center for the Arts provides a state-of-the-art venue for College of Performing Arts students to hone their talents, discover their voices and visions, and prepare for rich and rewarding lives in the arts. The Center’s façade spans the entire block at the northwest corner of campus, staking out a highly visible arts identity within the community.

Musco Center was designed by renowned architects Pfeiffer Partners, with acoustics by world‑renowned Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics. The center boasts an intimate seating chamber with 1,044 seats on three levels and a full-scale stagehouse capable of grand spectacle or lush symphonic sound with its unique orchestral shell in place. Since its opening in March 2016, Musco Center serves as a dynamic focal point for campus life and the broader community, giving notice that world-class arts education and artistic achievement has found a new home in Southern California.

Oliphant Hall, located adjacent to Bertea Hall, is the Conservatory of Music's state-of-the-art facility that provides a modern infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of faculty and students well into the future. This building houses teaching studios, practice rooms and a lecture hall, as well as the John and Donna Crean Orchestral Recital Hall, Thomas G. and Willy Hall ('64) Lecture Hall, M. Douglas Music Collection, Steve and Helen Kay Music Technology Center, Margaret Richardson Office of the Dean, Marcus and Louise Pomeroy Conference Room, and the Margaret Richardson Administration Center.

During the construction of Oliphant Hall, Bertea Hall underwent an extensive renovation to bring both facilities to new feature levels and to allow Bertea to continue to serve the students and faculty in the best way possible. The key donors for the original Conservatory of Music facility were Richard and Hyla Bertea. The building houses the Salmon Recital Hall, Shanley Choral Room, Stoltz Student Lounge, Steeve Kay Technology Center, classrooms, teaching studios and practice rooms.

Located within Bertea Hall, Salmon Recital Hall serves as the main performance space for many Conservatory of Music events. A range of musical presentations can often be heard inside, including vocal and instrumental recitals, chamber music, guest artists and master teachers, and occasional performances by the conservatory's major ensembles.

Waltmar Theatre is home to many of the college's theatre and dance performances. It is also used as a classroom space to give students an opportunity to hone their skills as professional artists. Located at the corner of Palm and Center, Waltmar Theatre seats 240.

The O.L. Halsell Foundation Studio Theatre is a flexible space used for both theatre classes and performances. This intimate venue can seat up to 50 patrons and is located within Moulton Hall.

Chapman’s Entertainment Technology Center is home to CoPA's production group. Students can take classes related to entertainment technology and have opportunities to build scenic and costume elements for all of the college's dance, opera, and theatre productions.