1996 – 2026 · THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

The Herbert And Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center At FIU

WPAC · “The Wertheim” · Florida International University, Miami

A 74,052-square-foot performing-arts complex where music and theatre are taught, rehearsed, designed, built, and performed under one roof — home to five stages and the largest concert organ in the southeastern United States.

1996

OPENED · 30 YRS IN 2026

5

PERFORMANCE VENUES

4,255

ORGAN PIPES

74,052

SQUARE FEET

A Complete Home For The Performing Arts

Opened in 1996, the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center — WPAC, or simply “The Wertheim” — is home to the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts and the FIU Department of Theatre. Across its two wings sit five performance venues, a 4,255-pipe concert organ, more than 25 practice rooms, and complete costume, scenery, and design shops — a full ecosystem for the performing arts and one of Miami’s premier collegiate concert and performance venues. It stands on the southern edge of FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus as a cultural gateway to the university and the anchor of its Avenue of the Arts.

REFERENCE

Key Facts At A Glance

OFFICIAL NAME
Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center

LOCATION
10910 SW 17th Street, Miami, Florida 33199

OPENED
Fall 1996 · 30th anniversary in 2026

GROSS AREA
74,052 sq ft (67,764 net assignable)

ARCHITECT
Spillis, Candela & Partners (Hilario F. Candela)

PERFORMANCE VENUES
5 (Concert Hall, Mainstage, Black Box, Recital, Instrumental)

CONCERT ORGAN
Sydell Ida Wertheim Organ · 4,255 pipes · Schantz, 1999

NAMING GIFT
$10 million (2022); matched by FIU toward ~$20 million

ALSO KNOWN AS
WPAC · The Wertheim

CAMPUS
FIU Modesto A. Maidique Campus (southern edge)

SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION
February 28, 1997

ORIGINAL COST
Approximately $14 million

CONSTRUCTION START
1994 (notice to proceed May 24, 1994)

CONCERT HALL SEATS
585 (FIU has also published 545, 524, 600)

PRIMARY OCCUPANTS
Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts; FIU Dept. of Theatre

WEBSITE
carta.fiu.edu/the-wertheim

FIVE STAGES, ONE BUILDING

Performance Venues

Indoor Performance Venues and Seated Capacities
Venue Seats Primary Use
Wertheim Concert Hall 585 Symphony, wind ensemble, opera, choral concerts, organ recitals, touring artists. A Steinway home with a 40-ft retractable screen and projection.
Mainstage Theatre 300 Fully produced plays and musicals (40+ since opening) with a full counterweight fly system; FIU Department of Theatre.
Black Box Studio Theatre 120 Experimental and student productions, staged readings, and workshops in an adaptable studio.
Instrumental Hall 100 Ensemble rehearsals, jazz combos, auditions, clinics, and master classes.
Recital Hall 80 Solo and chamber recitals, lectures, and small ceremonies.
Studios & production shops 25+ Practice rooms, percussion and drum rooms, music-technology studio, plus costume, properties, and design shops.
THE CROWN JEWEL

The Sydell Ida Wertheim Concert Organ

Built by the 125-year-old Schantz Organ Company and installed in 1999, the organ is the visual and acoustic centerpiece of the Concert Hall. Its solid-oak console commands four manual keyboards and a pedal clavier controlling 4,255 pipes across the 26-ton instrument. FIU describes it as the largest concert organ in the southeastern United States. Donated by the Wertheims and named for Dr. Herbert Wertheim’s mother, it anchors FIU’s organ-studies program, which hosts internationally renowned organists including Notre-Dame de Paris titular organist Olivier Latry.

4,255

PIPES · FOUR MANUALS · 26 TONS · SCHANTZ, 1999

ON STAGE SINCE 1996

Notable Performances

CONCERT HALL Olivier Latry · Arturo Sandoval · The Baltimore Consort · The Woody Herman Orchestra
OPENING NIGHT The Walt Disney World Brass Choir, 1996
MAINSTAGE Fiddler on the Roof · RENT · 40+ plays and musicals · actors Andy Senor and Danny Pino
IN RESIDENCE Amernet String Quartet · FIU Symphony Orchestra · FIU Wind Ensemble
BEYOND THE ARTS Presidential candidates, public forums, and TEDxFIU speakers
FIVE STAGES, ONE BUILDING

Thirty Years, in Brief

Indoor Performance Venues and Seated Capacities
’94 Ground breaks
Construction begins on the complex, designed by Miami firm Spillis, Candela & Partners.
’99 The organ arrives
The 26-ton, 4,255-pipe Sydell Ida Wertheim Concert Organ is installed.
’22 A transformational gift
The Wertheims’ $10M naming gift — the largest ever to a public-university music school in Florida.
’96 The doors open
The $14M center opens, launching with the Walt Disney World Brass Choir.
’16 Twenty years
FIU marks two decades of concerts, productions, forums, and ceremonies.
’26 Thirty years
The Wertheim celebrates three decades as a premier collegiate venue.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

All About the Wertheim

The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center (WPAC, commonly “The Wertheim”) is a 74,052-square-foot performing-arts complex at Florida International University in Miami. Opened in 1996, it houses a concert hall, two theatres, two music halls, and full production facilities, and is home to the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts and the FIU Department of Theatre.

The Wertheim opened in 1996 and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026. FIU records note substantial completion on February 28, 1997.

At 10910 SW 17th Street, Miami, Florida 33199, on the southern edge of FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus — a cultural gateway to the university and the anchor of its Avenue of the Arts.

The architect of record was the Miami firm Spillis, Candela & Partners. The “Candela” refers to Cuban-American architect Hilario F. Candela — a principal and later president of the firm, best known for the Miami Marine Stadium. Construction began in 1994.

The complex is 74,052 gross square feet (67,764 net assignable). The Concert Hall seats 585; the other venues seat about 300 (Mainstage), 120 (Black Box), 100 (Instrumental), and 80 (Recital).

A four-manual Schantz concert organ with 4,255 pipes, installed in 1999 and named for Herbert Wertheim’s mother. The 26-ton instrument is described by FIU as the largest concert organ in the southeastern United States.

Its breadth. Few university venues unite five performance spaces, a major concert organ, and complete teaching and production facilities within a single building — an integrated home where the performing arts are taught, rehearsed, designed, built, and publicly performed all under one roof.

Performers have included organist Olivier Latry, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, The Baltimore Consort, and The Woody Herman Orchestra — alongside FIU’s ensemble-in-residence the Amernet String Quartet, the FIU Symphony Orchestra, and the FIU Wind Ensemble. Its Mainstage Theatre has presented more than 40 productions, from Fiddler on the Roof to RENT.

They funded the center’s creation with gifts beginning in 1996, donated the organ in 1999, and in 2022 made a $10 million naming gift — described by FIU as the largest ever to a public-university school of music in Florida. FIU planned to match it, directing about $20 million toward programs, scholarships, and facilities.