Mission

A catalyst for creativity and learning, the Prior Performing Arts Center amplifies the arts ecosystem at Holy Cross and provides the College, the greater Worcester community and visiting creative artists and thinkers with an environment designed to inspire and pursue diverse questions of the human experience.

History

The opening of the Prior Performing Arts Center signaled a new era supporting a longstanding Jesuit liberal arts college tradition, of using the arts to create dialogue, challenge perspectives, and encourage innovation and creative thinking. 

The College has long invested in integrative, interdisciplinary approaches to the arts. The arts have been infused in students’ academic lives and have produced new opportunities throughout the curriculum and the community to leverage creativity across cultural, geographic, and intellectual boundaries.

This commitment has resulted in various College initiatives hosting residencies and presenting performances from internationally acclaimed artists and ensembles including Taylor Mac, Terence Blanchard, Kevork Moraud, Rhiannon Giddens, the Silk Road Ensemble, Martha Redbone, Sneha Shresha, Camille A. Brown, Samore Pinderhughes, Las Cafeteras, Johnny Gandelsman, Hanif Abdurraqib, Cyro Baptista, The Acting Company and more.

This programming and other related efforts by faculty, staff, and students across the College continue to feed the vision for what a state-of-the-art performing arts center promises to our campus and community. It is upon this strong foundation that the Prior Performing Arts Center continues to grow.

Cornelius B. Prior, Jr. ’56

Former trustee and past Board of Advisors member Cornelius B. Prior, Jr. ’56 is a man whose deep affection for the arts and for Holy Cross have inspired his generous cornerstone gifts to his alma mater. A longtime champion of the arts at the College, Prior’s philanthropic support has been varied, extensive, and ongoing. His vision and leadership ensure that Holy Cross will be a fount of creativity and imagination for years to come, enabling countless students the opportunity to experience the arts and pursue their creative passions.