Gleason Performing Arts Center
Gleason Capital Campaign
Among the first places new Florida Tech students visit for orientation and the last place they see before walking over to the university gymnasium for graduation, Gleason Performing Arts Center has spent its over 55 years as an unobtrusive but essential facet of campus life.
As a host of events, from concerts and lectures to plays and films, the 483-seat venue named after benefactor W. Lansing Gleason, the former Eau Gallie mayor, has also been a key link between the public and Florida Tech.
When it officially opened on Oct. 14, 1967, Gleason was described in publicity materials as “one of the finest and most fully equipped private auditoriums in Brevard County.” Over the years, that distinction has dimmed.
Gleason is now the opposite of dim. It is, in fact, blazing, after many years of upgrade projects and upgrades. Now hosting near daily events for the campus and community Gleason has become a beacon of artistic development with boundless potential.
For more information contact:
Gleason@fit.edu or call the box office at (321)-674-8006
Upcoming Public Performances:
Keiko Matsui Bio: Contemporary Jazz composer/pianist/keyboardist Keiko Matsui has a very spiritual view of composing music, feeling out each composition as though it were, in her words, "coming to me from another space, another dimension," and "catching notes from the silence and then simply placing them together". Keiko Matsui sees music as "the great gifts from the human souls from the past, for the children of the future".
Ms. Matsui performs with her full band at the Florida Institute of Technology’s Gleason Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 10, 2023, at 8 pm, as part of BMG Concerts and Regalitos Foundation’s 30- year effort to bring national and international contemporary jazz artists to Brevard County stages.
For more details about this concert, please visit www.bmgconcerts.com.
Direct ticketing link at: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/regalitos/6426
Firefall Bio: Firefall is the classic American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band's biggest hit single, "You Are the Woman", peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard chart in 1976. Other hits included "Just Remember I Love You" (#11 in 1977), "Strange Way" (#11 in 1978), "Cinderella" (#34 in 1977), "Headed for a Fall" (#35 in 1980), and "Staying with It" (#37 in 1981).
Firefall’s GREATEST HITS satisfied many fans who’d been asking for a collection of the band’s best known songs – all their hit 45s and a handful of the choicest LP tracks, plus a new, previously unreleased Firefall recording penned by co-founder Jock Bartley and is titled “Run Run Away.”
Firefall performs at the Florida Institute of Technology’s Gleason Performing Arts Center on Saturday, December 9th, 2023, at 8 pm, as part of BMG Concerts and Regalitos Foundation’s 30 year effort to bring national and international artists to Brevard county stages.
For more details about this concert, please visit www.bmgconcerts.com.
Direct ticketing link at: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/regalitos/6426
The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical: As the half-blood son of a Greek god, Percy Jackson has newly-discovered powers he can't control, a destiny he doesn't want, and a mythology textbook's worth of monsters on his trail. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the thief. He must travel to the Underworld and back; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and come to terms with the father who abandoned him.
The Florida Tech College Players is one of the creative organizations on campus. College Players is a student run organization where students are the directors, producers, set designers, and actors of a play or musical performed each semester on campus.
The Lighning Thief wll be at the Florida Institute of Technology’s Gleason Performing Arts Center with performances over 6 dates:
Thursday, October 26th, 2023 at 8 pm
Friday, October 27th, 2023 at 8pm
Saturday, October 28th, 2023 at 2pm
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 at 8pm
Friday, November 3rd, 2023 at 8pm
Saturday, November 4th at 2pm
For more details about these performances and for tickets, please visit https://linktr.ee/fitcollegeplayers.
Gleason "Name Your Seat" Program
In an effort to grow with the expanding campus, a campaign themed "Name Your Seat" has been launched. This campaign gives donors the opportunity to be part of Florida Tech's history.
You can support the Gleason Performing Arts Center by making a donation to the "Take Your Seat" campaign.
In return, your name, or a name honored by you, will be inscribed on a brass plaque attached to a seat inside the Gleason Performing Arts Center.
For more information: Name Your Seat in the Gleason Performing Arts Center
Questions/Comments for the Gleason Performing Arts Center?
You can contact us by calling (321) 674-8006.