Poway Center to Present DAVID BENOIT CHRISTMAS TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE BROWN, 12/6

Add a new twist to your holiday tradition as the Poway Center for the Performing Arts presents a David Benoit Christmas Tribute to Charlie Brown on Saturday, December 6, at 8 p.m.

David Benoit is an accomplished jazz and classical pianist, composer and conductor with 25 albums and five Grammy® nominations to his name. The native Californian will play classic Christmas tunes from the Peanuts television specials, including original songs composed by the late Vince Guaraldi and the rest by Benoit himself as Guaraldi's musical heir. If you close your eyes, you can almost picture Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang singing "Christmas Time is Here" - a holiday classic! Accompanied by the youth choir of the Rancho Bernardo Presbyterian Community Church, Benoit will bring all of our favorite Charlie Brown Christmas songs to life on stage and really bring out the Christmas spirit in all.

Inspired by the comic strip Peanuts, the most popular and influential comic strip ever, A Christmas Tribute to Charlie Brown will take a walk down memory lane. With almost 18,000 strips published since 1950, Peanuts has become a household name and all-time favorite. Through newspapers, it reached 355 million people in 75 countries and was translated into 21 languages. Charles Schulz created the strip for 50 years until he had to retire for health reasons. He died the day before the final Sunday strip was published.

The Peanuts theme of "the great American unsuccess story" made everyone fall in love with main character Charlie Brown, who is meek, nervous and lacks self-confidence. He is unable to fly a kite, win a baseball game, or kick a football. Other beloved characters include Lucy, Linus, Sally, Schroeder, Pig-Pen, Snoopy, Woodstock, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Shermy, Franklin, Eudora, Frieda and Violet Gray. A Charlie Brown Christmas depicts the true essence of the holidays and really inspires people of all ages to embrace the true meaning of the season.

Adult tickets range from $39 to $49. Senior tickets are $33, and GEICO Youth Tickets are $14 for youth under 18 with the purchase of an adult ticket. Tickets are on sale now through www.powayarts.org and the box office. The 800-seat Center is located at 15498 Espola Rd. at the corner of Titan Way in Poway. The box office is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and two hours before curtain. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more by calling 858.668.4797.

Benoit has been credited with firmly planting music from the Peanuts TV shows in the jazz world. He has played Carnegie Hall four times, and has collaborated with jazz greats such as Al Jarreau, Chris Botti, Marc Antoine, Dave Brubeck, Earl Klugh, Michael Franks and Nathan East. He has performed at The White House for Presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. His recordings encompass a wide range of jazz-inflected styles, from contemporary pop to straight ahead bebop, orchestral and hip hop.

Benoit's involvement with the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation has taken him to classrooms throughout the country where he teaches children about music. He also has been involved with the Grammy in the Schools Foundation and was voted Music Mentor of the Year by the International Foundation of Education and Performing Arts.

Late last year, David Benoit gave a talk titled "Imagine That" at the TEDx Manhattan Beach Conference. He talked about his unconventional journey to success, starting when the family moved into a rental house that had a piano in his bedroom when he was a young boy. At his first recital, he panicked when it was time to play Bach, so he improvised and played a song he had composed himself. He was just a kid. He got a standing ovation. By his senior year in high school, he was playing professionally. He ended his TED talk by saying, "If you're creative, or have an idea, don't let anyone stop you. Follow that dream. Don't ever give up."

The Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation is a 24 year old non-profit organization that offers professional performing arts events, including concerts, dance performances, theater productions, and a children's theatre series. The Foundation operates through a special partnership with the City of Poway and the Poway Unified School District.

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