Venue

Rice Auditorium 

Rice Auditorium, located on the campus of Western Oregon University at the corner of Powell St E and Knox St N, is a hidden gem of the mid-Willamette Valley. Named for longtime WOU president, Leonard. W. Rice, this beautiful, 600-seat theater hosts all Smith Fine Arts Series concerts. Its lobby is a vibrant space for displaying art where concert goers enjoy mingling, and sharing a glass of wine before a show. The acoustics of the auditorium are perfectly balanced and the stage is visible from every seat – there’s not a bad seat in the house!

The history of Rice Auditorium and the Smith Fine Arts Series have been intertwined from the beginning. When Rice Auditorium was completed in 1976, music professor Edgar H. Smith organized a series of concerts to inaugurate the hall. The concerts were so popular that the WOU community decided to continue the series each year. In 1979, the concerts were officially named the Smith Fine Arts Series and they have continued each year since then. 

(All Smith Fine Arts Series performances begin at 7:30 PM and take place in Rice Auditorium (344 Knox St N) on the campus of Western Oregon University. Free parking is available in the lot (marked ‘B’ on the campus map) adjacent to the building via the entrance on Knox St N.