Message from the Director -

Welcome to Russel E. and Fern M. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts!

 Opened in November of 2006, McKendree College’s Hettenhausen Center for the Arts – or the “Hett” as we like to call it, has quickly established itself as the premier performing arts venue in Southern Illinois.  In this past year, our audiences have seen performances by world class artists from every discipline of the arts, including dance, drama, classical music and jazz.  Our second Spotlight Series promises to be just as successful as our first. 

The Hett has successfully knit itself into the fabric of the Metro East community.  By welcoming not only the best national and international acts, but wonderful local artists to our stage and by keeping our commitment affordable and accessible tickets – we succeeded in bringing quality performing arts to the largest possible audience.  Our first Spotlight Series season consisted of 11 sold-out performances – a resounding confirmation that the region has embraced our mission.

As a facility, the reputation of the Hett is growing quickly.  In a recent Op-Ed piece for the Belleville News-Democrat, Dr. A. Dennis Sparger, conductor of the St. Louis Bach Society and Masterworks Chorale, noted that the Hett offers “incredible acoustics.” Emily Onderdonk, violist for Grammy-nominated Quartet San Francisco, wrote that the Hett was “one of the truly great venues in this country.” We believe the reputation of the venue will only grow with time. 

On behalf of McKendree University, I thank you for your visit to our website and hope to see you at one of our events soon.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Palermo

Director