Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra Set for Smothers Theatre

New Zealand's Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra bring their winning combination of charming Kiwi humor, disarmingly small instruments, and sublime musicality to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Saturday, January 30 at 8 p.m.

Tickets, priced starting at $22 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or online at http://arts.pepperdine.edu/. For more information about the artist, visit http://www.ukulele.co.nz/

Hailing from the home of The Hobbit movies and sharing DNA with Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand's Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra are skilled performers who live to entertain. Their signature sound features high-octane ukulele solos, heavenly multi-part vocal harmonies and an impressive range of ukuleles, complete with flamboyant outfits, delightful theatrical effects and convivial crowd participation.

The band's repertoire is a superbly eclectic curation of songs appropriated from many genres alongside tunes from the South Pacific, all packaged into a spectacular, unmissable funfest. Expect to hear fantastic "ukulelefied" versions of rock and pop classics by the likes of Justin Timberlake, Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie, Salt-N-Pepa and more.

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra was founded a little bit by accident in December 2005 when award-winning musician Age Pryor (Fly My Pretties, the Woolshed Sessions) cooked up the scheme with his friend Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords) in their tiny local café, Deluxe. Word spread to the other side of the café, and within a few months a dozen friends from Wellington's tightknit musical community were playing ukes during regular early morning sessions. More and more people stopped by to watch, until there was no more room in the café and they had to strike out for bigger pastures.

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra have now toured the USA, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and headlined major arts festivals across New Zealand and Australia. The versatile musicians have released four EPs and a full-length album, which debuted in the NZ Top 10 and topped the NZ Indie Music chart. They have performed on film, television and commercial soundtracks, and collaborated with many of the greats of Kiwi music. They're a festival favorite and have become a mainstay of the 21st Century ukulele revival.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from 664 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.

Photo by Matt Grace

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