Cristine HallWhen the Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts opened on March 19, 2016, Chapman alumnus and rising Metropolitan Opera tenor Ben Bliss ’08 was among the featured performers.
Ten years later, he returns to the Musco stage on Oct. 15 as part of the center’s anniversary season — a full-circle moment that reflects how a stage built for students can also become a lifelong artistic home.
The $82 million facility — made possible in large part by a $39 million gift from Marybelle and the late Paul Musco — drew acclaim from the start. Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed called it potentially “the best opera house in the West,” praising acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, the Japanese acoustician behind Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Longtime champions of Orange County’s arts scene, the Muscos believed great art deserves a great home. “We are not the kind of people to give money and walk away,” Marybelle Musco said at the time.
The 1,044-seat hall, designed by Pfeiffer Partners Architects, puts no audience member more than 78 feet from the stage. About 60% of the center’s schedule goes to Chapman students, letting them learn and perform alongside internationally acclaimed artists — including, over the past decade, Jon Batiste, Alan Cumming, Rosanne Cash, and Martha Graham Dance Company. In its first 10 years, the center has hosted more than 500 productions and events — including 181 Musco Presents performances, 142 College of Performing Arts productions, and 180 university events.
“For 10 years, Musco Center has been a defining part of the Chapman experience, a stunning venue where extraordinary artistry, deep community connection, and unforgettable moments have taken root and flourished,” said Musco’s Anne Hogan, Ph.D.
The 2026–27 anniversary season celebrates that legacy, opening with the 10th Anniversary Jubilee on Sept. 19, which brings together professional artists — many of them Chapman alumni — alongside current students. The season also features performances by the Blind Boys of Alabama (Grammy- winning gospel legends), Gaby Moreno (Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter), Jerry Douglas (14- time Grammy-winning dobro player), and Mariachi Los Camperos (Grammy- winning mariachi ensemble); dance from BalletX (Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet company), Compagnie Hervé Koubi (French- Algerian troupe blending hip-hop, capoeira, and contemporary dance), and Alonzo King LINES Ballet (San Francisco’s celebrated contemporary ballet company). A special evening with Priscilla Presley, plus Pacific Symphony’s Symphony in the Cities and the return of Heartbeat of Mexico, rounds out the calendar. Today, the Musco Center is what its founders envisioned: a venue where students share the stage with world-renowned performers and audiences experience performances of the highest caliber.
