The Ascending Voice IV to Celebrate Christian Worship Music at Pepperdine University

Celebrating congregational singing and a cappella music in Christian worship, The Ascending Voice IV features three main evening concerts: Cerulean- Voices Extraordinary on Thursday, May 12 directed by Ryan Board; the grand Ascending Voice Festival Choir concert on Friday, May 13 directed by world renowned choral scholar Simon Carrington; and Grammy Award-winning sensation Take 6 on Saturday, May 14. All three concerts will be performed at 7:30 p.m. in Smothers Theatre on Pepperdine's Malibu campus.

Tickets, priced starting at $10 for the Cerulean and the Festival Choir concerts and starting at $25 for Take 6, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or online at arts.pepperdine.edu. Pepperdine students may attend any of the three concerts for just $10. More information about The Ascending Voice IV available at www.pepperdine.edu/ascendingvoice/welcome.htm.

There are multiple worship times during the festival, including opportunities for sing-along sessions and lectures from such great congregational song leaders like Keith Lancaster and Ken Nafziger, and keynote speakers such as Marva Dawn, Ph.D., theologian and author of Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for These Urgent Times.

About Cerulean: Voices Extraordinary - As the resident ensemble of Pepperdine University's The Ascending Voice, Cerulean is an elite chamber choir of mixed voices whose mission is to discover, rediscover, promote, and celebrate the highest forms of Christian sacred a cappella music. The name connects to the purpose of The Ascending Voice and evokes the notion of voices of praise offered up to the heavens for God's glory.

Working within the parameters of the triennial symposium The Ascending Voice, Cerulean performs high-quality public concerts and serves as a resource to workshop and lecture presentations, singing examples of various a cappella worship styles. Cerulean also advances the cause of new Christian art music by commissioning and performing new sacred a cappella concert works.

Cerulean's members include professional singers, conductors, composers, and church musicians from across the US who love sacred a cappella music. Performing a cappella singing at its highest level, Cerulean is especially pleased to include Pepperdine alumni in the ensemble.

About The Ascending Voices Festival Choir - The Ascending Voice Choral Festival Choir is directed by Simon Carrington, choral director emeritus of the Yale University Choir and co-founder of the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble, The King's Singers. This choral festival features several outstanding collegiate choirs from across the United States in the presentation of stand-alone and combined performances.

About Take 6 - Take 6 is one of the most pioneering and influential contemporary a cappella groups of all time. Six virtuosic voices unite in crystal clear harmony, against a backdrop of syncopated rhythms, innovative arrangements, and funky grooves that bubble into an intoxicating mix of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop. Praised by such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Whitney Houston, the multi-platinum selling sextet has toured the globe, collaborated across genres, and is recognized as one of the pre-eminent a cappella groups in the world. Quincy Jones called them the "baddest vocal cats on the planet!" Take 6 has received 24 Grammy nominations in four genres: gospel, jazz, R&B and pop-winning 10 Grammys in three categories. In addition, they have won ten Dove Awards, and one Soul Train Award.

The group, originating on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, is famous for its creative integration of spiritual and inspirational lyrics with R&B and jazz influences. They have collaborated with numerous artists including Ray Charles, Don Henley, Al Jarreau, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Stevie Wonder, and many others. Their newest album Believe, which debuted in April, has appeared simultaneously on six Billboard Charts. According to the Huffington Post, "If you don't remember just how successful and influential a cappella group Take 6 is, well, that's okay. They're ready to serve a reminder with their new release Believe."

About The Ascending Voices IV - Running May 12 through 14, The Ascending Voice IV at Pepperdine University is a unique attempt to bring together disparate traditions of sacred song--so that we can experience and remember how song humanizes us and lures us to the sacred. The Ascending Voice, then, is Pepperdine's celebration of this unique form of human art. It is our attempt to celebrate human community and to invite one another into the divine presence. So far as the organizers are aware, no church or institution in the U.S. or in the world is bringing together such theologically diverse traditions to celebrate sacred a cappella music.

The Ascending Voice IV draws singers, choral directors, music directors, and scholars of music, theology, liturgy, and history from throughout the U.S. and abroad. Participants represent many denominational backgrounds, including Reformed, Catholic, Mennonite, Church of Christ, Eastern Orthodox, and Armenian churches. The Ascending Voice is where diverse Christian communities gather to learn about and experience each other's distinct sacred musical traditions.

To register and for more information, visit www.pepperdine.edu/ascendingvoice/welcome.htm.

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