A ROCKAPELLA HOLIDAY to Play Pepperdine University This December

Rockapella, the popular a cappella group that features four world-class vocalists and one of the music industry's top vocal percussionists brings their special holiday performance, A Rockapella Holiday, to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6.

Tickets, starting at $22 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or visiting arts.pepperdine.edu. More information about Rockapella at www.rockapella.com.

Rockapella's astonishing, full-band sound-a sound that seems impossible coming from just five guys with microphones and no instruments, no tracks, and no mirrors-keeps its audiences coming back year after year and constantly attracts new fans. This year, with their show A Rockapella Holiday, the group will perform some of the best-loved holiday songs, such as "The Little Drummer Boy," "I Have a Little Dreidel," and "Auld Lang Syne."

"We make it rock and make it interesting," says Scott Leonard, the group's chief songwriter, arranger, and architect of their evolving, dynamic sound. "People have a hard time believing it's just us making all of that music. It's still those same elements that make modern band music: percussion, bass, melody, and harmony."

The current Rockapella lineup includes Leonard (since 1991, high tenor), Jeff Thacher (1993, vocal percussionist), Steven Dorian (2010, tenor), Calvin C. Jones (2013, tenor), and their newest member Ryan Chappelle (2015, bass).

They've become one of the world's most sophisticated, lasting, and imitated vocal groups around today. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more influential group out there in this new era of network television a cappella shows like NBC's The Sing-Off, movies like Pitch Perfect, and innumerable college vocal groups that own the corner of cool on campuses everywhere.The group is best known in the US as innovative entertainers whose clever wit, shtick, and tunes were the jet-thrusters for the 295 episodic voyages of the PBS kid-TV smash Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? The show's theme song is still the group's most downloaded song.

The versatile group has been all over the entertainment map, appearing early on in the PBS Do It A Cappella special hosted by Spike Lee. They have also performed with Whoopi Goldberg on her TV specials as well as on jingles for Folgers coffee and Almond Joy, custom promos for The Today Show, and an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The group has also ventured out into the instrumental world, accepting an invitation to perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra.

Rockapella has traveled far in the sonic solar system since its early collegiate roots, when an enthusiastic a cappella quartet oF Brown University graduates started singing doo-wop on New York City street corners in 1986. Over the decades Rockapella has evolved into a high-energy concert performance troupe that travels the globe, giving at least 80 concerts a year.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from 808 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.

IF YOU GO:

WHEN: Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 8 p.m.

WHERE: Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

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

PRICES: $22-$45 for public; $10 for Pepperdine students

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