Singletary Center for the Arts

What Singletary Center for the Arts does

The Singletary Center for the Arts is a performing arts venue operated by the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts in Lexington, Kentucky. It opened on November 1, 1979 and was named in 1987 for retiring UK President Dr. Otis A. Singletary. The venue comprises a Concert Hall and Recital Hall and hosts approximately 400 events annually, drawing international, national, regional, university, and student performers, and has served more than 3.7 million patrons over its operating history. The center is supported by a permanent staff of eight full-time professionals plus part-time student workers across back-of-house services, front-of-house management, and ticket office sales.

The center generates revenue through two primary streams: ticket sales for concerts, recitals, and operas held in its venues (with tiered pricing ranging from $12 student tickets to $167.75 meet-and-greet packages), and facility rentals to external organizations for conferences and events via the Rent SCFA program. Its customer base spans four segments: the general public and Kentucky patrons, University of Kentucky students (who receive free or discounted admission), K-12 schools reached through the Schmidt Opera Outreach Program (over 290,000 students across 270+ schools in 77 Kentucky counties since 2007), and third-party event organizers renting the facility. The venue is affiliated with the College of Fine Arts' 40+ degree programs and 1,400 students, and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (2026 visit) and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (2017 visit).

Adjacent offerings expand the center's surface area beyond ticketed performances: the UK Art Museum (housed within the center, with a 5,000-object permanent collection and free admission), Electronic Music and Recording Studios for academic composition, the Signature Artist Society donor program funding guest artists for the UK Symphony Orchestra, and a $150 million Bill Gatton Foundation gift funding a new College of Fine Arts building and modern performance theater. Distribution runs through direct box office sales, online ticketing, the official College of Fine Arts website, and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram). The underlying technology is conventional venue management infrastructure; there is no disclosed AI, platform architecture, or proprietary software layer.

Name

Singletary Center for the Arts

Legal name

Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts

Website

https://finearts.uky.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Singletary Center for the Arts is a University of Kentucky performing arts venue in Lexington operating two concert halls, hosting roughly 400 events annually for the public, UK students, K-12 schools, and touring performers, with revenue from ticket sales and facility rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Venue

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Concert Halls & Music Venue Operations (Symphony Halls, Recital Venues) (MPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG), Cultural Centers & Multidisciplinary Arts Institutions (THAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Performing arts venue
• Concert hall events
• Facility rental services
• Arts education outreach
• Live performance programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from ticket sales for concerts, recitals, operas, and other performances held in the Concert and Recital Halls. Pricing varies by event with tiered seating options.
2. Facility Rentals: The center offers professional venues for rental to external groups and organizations for their own events, conferences, and performances.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Singletary Center for the Arts is a multi-venue performing arts complex on the University of Kentucky campus that provides professional, full-service concert and recital halls for the creation, presentation, and dissemination of artistic, cultural, and educational performances. It hosts approximately 400 events annually and offers facility rental services to external organizations for events, conferences, and performances.

Product overview

The Singletary Center for the Arts is a multi-venue performing arts complex operated by the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts. The center provides professional performance venues including the Concert Hall and Recital Hall, hosting approximately 400 events annually and serving over 3.7 million patrons since opening in 1979. Related offerings include venue rental services (SCFA Facility Rental), the UK Art Museum (housed within the center with free admission), and the Schmidt Opera Outreach Program bringing opera education to Kentucky schools. The center is supported by the Signature Artist Society donor program for securing guest artists, and the adjacent Electronic Music and Recording Studios support music composition and recording education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Singletary Concert Hall State-of-the-art professional concert venue used for ticketed performances including concerts, operas, recitals, comedy, and other touring productions, with tiered seating options.
• Singletary Recital Hall Professional recital hall hosting smaller-scale performances including recitals, chamber music, and intimate concerts, supporting University of Kentucky School of Music programs.
• SCFA Facility Rental Rental service providing the Singletary Center's professional venues and facilities to external organizations, tour promoters, and event planners for conferences, meetings, performances, and private events.
• Singletary Presents Curated annual performance programming series presenting ticketed concerts and events featuring international, national, regional, university, and student performers at the Concert and Recital Halls.
• Schmidt Opera Outreach Program (SOOP) Opera outreach and education service bringing student matinee performances, study guides, and Q&A sessions to K-12 schools across Kentucky. Has reached over 290,000 students in more than 270 schools and 77 counties since 2007.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.7 million+ patrons served since opening in 1979
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Association of Schools of MusiccoreOthersThe University of Kentucky is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. Last visit: 2026.
• National Association of Schools of TheatrecoreOthersThe University of Kentucky is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre. Last visit: 2017.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: Iconic multi-venue performing arts campus offering concert halls, recital halls, opera, and theater; broader and far larger than Singletary but addresses overlapping presenting/programming functions.
• The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: National presenting institution with concert halls, opera, theater, and education outreach; comparable mission of professional performing arts presentation plus K-12 outreach, though at vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Zellerbach Hall (UC Berkeley): University of California Berkeley's primary concert and performing arts venue, presenting an international roster of music, dance, and theater — comparable as a flagship state-university presenting house.
• Meany Center for the Performing Arts (University of Washington): University of Washington's presenting venue featuring classical, contemporary dance, world music, and theater at a similar regional/academic scale, with professional programming teams.
• Staller Center for the Arts (Stony Brook University): University-affiliated performing arts venue on a public university campus offering Concert Hall programming, recitals, and a mix of academic, professional, and community events at comparable scale.
• Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (University of Illinois): University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's multi-venue performing arts center serving a similar college-of-fine-arts role with comparable Concert Hall and recital programming, presenting national and international touring acts for a regional/academic audience.
• Memorial Hall (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill): Historic university performing arts venue at a public state university presenting touring music, theater, and dance, with comparable operating model and academic integration.
• Performing Arts Center at Purchase (SUNY Purchase): State-university performing arts complex hosting professional concerts, opera, and dance, anchored by a College of Arts; mirrors the Singletary Center's university-College-of-Fine-Arts integration.
• Touhill Performing Arts Center (University of Missouri–St. Louis): A university performing arts center hosting concerts, theater, and dance for a regional audience; closely comparable in governance (state university) and venue-product mix.

Regional players

• Strathmore (Bethesda, MD): Regional multi-venue presenting organization with a concert hall and music center comparable in programming scope (classical, jazz, folk, family), though not university-affiliated.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SingletaryCenter
• Instagraminstagram.com/singletarycenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/singletary-center-for-the-arts

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Singletary Center for the Arts