in addition to its wide usage by such local groups as the arts council, the gainesville theatre alliance, the gainesville ballet, the gainesville symphony orchestra and others, pearce auditorium has been the site of many famous speakers. helen keller, will durant, ted shawn, ruth st. dennis, martin luther king, sr., letitia baldrige, roberta peters, williams warwick, dan rather, jane fonda and maria von trapp, sally ride, dennis weaver, mary matalin and james carville, rory kennedy, and khaled hosseini all have spoken or performed in pearce. the arts council has welcomed additional guests in recent years as part of its pearce series, including the atlanta symphony orchestra, the new york city opera, the joffery ii ballet, the vienna boys choir, ramsey lewis, dave brubeck, herbie mann, chuck mangione, steve allen, and loretta switt.