Lagerquist Concert Hall

Lagerquist Concert Hall is the main concert room in Pacific Lutheran University’s Mary Baker Russell Music Center, on the campus in Parkland, just south of the Tacoma city line. It was dedicated in February 1995.

It seats fewer than 550, but the stage is built for a full orchestra, or a chorus with a chamber orchestra.

The organ

The hall’s pipe organ, the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Organ, was built by Paul Fritts and Co and finished in 1998. It’s a tracker, or mechanical-action, organ: the keys work the pipe valves through linkages, with no electric action in between. PLU’s organ recital series is the time to hear it on its own.

What’s on

Student recitals, wind ensemble and orchestra concerts, choirs, and PLU’s Christmas concerts in December. Many student recitals are free. Ensemble concerts have run $8–$16, and the Christmas concerts are priced higher.

Practical

PLU is at 12180 Park Ave S. Each concert’s page on PLU’s calendar has its price and a Buy Tickets link; ticketed concerts have sold through Eventbrite. Questions go to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at 253-535-7602.

Nearby

For a concert hall inside Tacoma, the University of Puget Sound’s Schneebeck Concert Hall in the North End is the University of Puget Sound’s equivalent. Downtown, the Pantages Theater hosts Symphony Tacoma.