Dan Zanes And Claudia Eliaza Come to Lisa Smith Wengler Center For The Arts

Multi-instrumentalist Dan Zanes and Haitian-American jazz vocalist Claudia Eliaza bring their educational and interactive children's show to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Sunday, January 27 at 2 p.m.

Tickets, priced starting at $10 for adults, $10 for youth 17 and under, and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or visiting arts.pepperdine.edu. Recommended for children ages 3 and up. More information about Zanes and Eliaza is available at danzanes.com.

Grammy Award-winner Dan Zanes occupies a unique place in American music. For the past 15 years, he has toured the world with his band, Dan Zanes and Friends, sharing handmade 21st century social music with enthusiastic crowds of kids and kid sympathizers.

From thrift shop basements to Carnegie Hall, from Brooklyn to Bahrain, Zanes has been introducing new songs and reconnecting people to the forgotten music of the past. His critically-acclaimed music has been featured on Sesame Street, Playhouse Disney, Nickelodeon, HBO Family and Sprout. He has collaborated with everyone from Philip Glass to Lou Reed to Angelique Kidjo to Natalie Merchant to The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Born in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1961, Zanes was a member of The Del Fuegos, who released quite a few albums and toured heavily throughout the 1980s before spontaneously combusting in 1989. In 1994, he released his first solo album, Cool Down Time. Shortly after, he moved with his family to Brooklyn. In 2000, he released Rocket Ship Beach, which became an immediate hit in the family music scene in America. He has since released 14 CDs, two DVDs, and a pair of picture books, all for young audiences.

In 2017, Zanes also released an album which celebrates the children's music of his childhood inspiration Lead Belly-an artist he considers to be the Godfather of modern family music. Lead Belly, Baby! is available on the Smithsonian/Folkways label and features performances by Aloe Blacc, Billy Bragg, Valerie June, and Chuck D. Zanes is currently touring with his wife Claudia Eliaza in support of Lead Belly, Baby!, and their shows are highly interactive-the audience is always invited to sing and dance along. Zanes and Eliaza believe that sensory friendly is the future of family entertainment and have committed to presenting all of their various performances in this inclusive manner.

Zanes also joined the ranks of America's premier roots musicians as a guitar and ukulele teacher with Sonic Junction, the leader in online instructional videos and he recently signed a deal with Quarto Publishing Group to compile a family music songbook.

Claudia Eliaza is an exuberant Haitian American songstress with a fragrantly rich voice that captivates her audience at large. Having performed at the world-famous Carnegie Hall, Eliaza continues to perform in other prestigious venues such as the Jazz Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg Russia, and the Berklee Performance Center. Eliaza has sung and worked with legendary artists including Barbara Morrison, Nancy King, and Keith Lockhart. With outstanding success, she has also toured within the US, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Ashdod, Israel, Kenya, Africa, and all throughout Russia. Her passion for music reaches beyond her performance life. Eliaza is a Board-Certified Music Therapist in the Boston area where she directs the Music Therapy? Program at Community Music Center of Boston. She believes that music has the power to break down walls and build bridges while fostering meaningful connections across generations.

Prior to the performance, the Center for the Arts will host Family Art Day in the Gregg G. Juarez Palm Courtyard from Noon-2 p.m; the event will feature special art projects and Weisman Museum tours. Family Art Day is free and open to the public.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from over 1,000 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the Center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.

TICKETS: (310) 506-4522 or arts.pepperdine.edu

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