The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Presents Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller, 12/3-4

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis, at 8:00 p.m., on Tuesday, December 3 and Wednesday, December 4, 2010, at the Benedum Center. Mannheim Steamroller's performances will feature the band's innovative arrangements and extravagant multi-media show of images, synchronized lighting and special effects. Mannheim Steamroller celebrates their 25th year touring the holiday concert across the United States this year. This performance is part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series.

Known for their classic arrangements of Silent Night, Deck the Halls, and Angels We Have Heard on High, the concert will feature the group's distinctive Christmas music from many of their multi-platinum award holiday albums heard over the past 25 years. Mannheim founder and composer Chip Davis comments, "The music, along with our state of the art multimedia production, is meant to make this an experience for the whole family."

Chip Davis began piano lessons at age four and had composed his first piece of music at age six. He graduated from the University of Michigan, School of Music- specializing in bassoon and percussion. Before founding Mannheim Steamroller, Davis' early musical career included touring with the Norman Luboff Choir and later working for a Nebraska advertising agency writing jingles. These included spots for a local bakery featuring the fictional trucker C. W. McCall. The spots were co-written with advertising writer William Fries, who became the voice of McCall. The spots were so popular Davis and Fries were persuaded to begin writing non-advertising songs featuring McCall. The most famous of these is the 1975 "Convoy". The duo released a total of five albums between 1974 and 1979. Davis was named ASCAP Country Music Writer of the Year in 1976.

Founded by Chip Davis, Mannheim Steamroller's music is best described as 18th Century classical rock with a musical fusion of acoustic, analog, digital and electronic sounds. Named after an 18th Century musical term that now translates as "crescendo," the group's popularity began in the 1990s with their album "Fresh Aire." The seventh recording in the Fresh Aire series received a Grammy Award for Best New Age Recording. Billboard calls the ensemble one of "the pioneers of neo-Classical electronic music" and "one of the driving forces behind the New Age phenomenon."

Tickets ($34.50 - $79.50) may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, at 655 Penn Avenue, online at http://www.pgharts.org by calling (412) 456-6666. To purchase 10 or more tickets at special discounted rates, please call (412) 471-6930.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh's 14-block Cultural District through public and private support. The Trust presents and encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District, and is an impetus for additional development in downtown Pittsburgh. In addition to the Trust Presents series, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh International Children's Theater and Children's Festival, CD Live, JazzLive, First Night Pittsburgh, Gallery Crawl, and Three Rivers Arts Festival, among other Cultural District and arts events. The Trust owns Theater Square and the Cabaret at Theater Square; James E Rohr Building & Arts Education Center; the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts; Byham, O'Reilly, and Harris Theaters; visual arts galleries: Wood Street Galleries, at 601 Wood Street; SPACE, at 812 Liberty Avenue and 937 Liberty: a multipurpose performance and exhibit space, among other downtown arts facilities. www.pgharts.org

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