Arts Director named

The Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center isn’t scheduled to open until 2011, but it already has a new executive director.

Carol Roberts-Spence was beaming as University of Texas of the Permian Basin President David Watts introduced her to a gathered crowd of founding donors, UTPB music, drama and art faculty and UTPB administrators on Monday afternoon.

Watts described a nationwide search that finally settled on Roberts-Spence, who has served as director of the University of Texas at El Paso’s Office of Special Events since 1998. While working with that office, she booked various musicians including John Tesh and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and the musical production of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” at UTEP’s Performing Arts Center.

“She has an outstanding track record and comes with impeccable credentials … We’re delighted to have her with us,” Watts said.

As director of the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, Roberts-Spence will be in charge of booking performances and planning the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center’s opening events.

Roberts-Spence said she plans to book the kinds of acts a state-of-the-art performance hall should attract. She said she hopes to bring in Broadway tours and musicians the caliber of Mandy Patinkin and Willie Nelson.

The $81 million Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center is scheduled to open September 2011. It will feature a 200-seat recital hall and a two-tiered, 1,800-seat performance hall, complete with an adjustable pit that raises and lowers, expanding or contracting the stage as needed. Both halls will feature sound designs capable of hosting amplified and acoustic performances.

Roberts-Spence said she was excited to be in a place and a part of a community that would emphasize the arts during these difficult economic times.

“The performing arts are vital to any community. It’s a gathering place, a place where the community comes together, so it’s essential to have a strong foundation,” she said.

FACT FILE

>> The Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center is scheduled to open September 2011.

>> The center will have both a recital hall and a performance hall.

>> Carol Roberts-Spence performed as a Shakespearean actor, instructor and touring manager in New York.

>> Carol Roberts-Spence studied at the National Shakespeare Conservatory.