

Fredonia鈥檚 talented vocal and musical theatre students will be featured twice as part of Rockefeller Arts Center鈥檚 signature series during the 2015-16 Lake Shore Savings Season.
The DFT Communications Pops opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 26 with 鈥淎n Evening of Ella and Ellington with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra鈥 at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall. Nia Drummond, a Voice Performance major who starred in the 2012 鈥淏ig Band Christmas Spectacular,鈥 will be the featured vocalist. Sharing the spotlight will be The Fredonia Voices, an eight-member vocal jazz group featuring seven current students and one graduate. Paul Ferguson leads the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, which has been northeast Ohio鈥檚 鈥減remiere jazz voice鈥 for more than 30 years. The Fredonia Voices will also perform with the group in Cleveland on Sept. 12.
Students will also be featured, per tradition, in the Commencement eve pops concert. This season鈥檚 production will be the concert version of Meredith Willson鈥檚 鈥淭he Music Man,鈥 on Friday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall.
The Western New York Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Glen Cortese, will back the student performers and Tom Loughlin, chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance, will be the stage director.
Rounding out the 2015-16 Pops Series will be the traditional Christmas concert on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall. This season鈥檚 show brings in M-Pact, an all-male a cappella group hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as 鈥渙ne of the best pop-jazz vocal groups in the world.鈥 The holiday concert will feature favorites like 鈥淒o You Hear What I Hear,鈥 鈥淎way in a Manger,鈥 鈥淥 Come, O Come Emmanuel鈥 and many more.
Rockefeller鈥檚 Lake Shore Savings Season will also feature events in the Kaleidoscope Family Series and the World Travel Series.
The Kaleidoscope Family Series, sponsored by The Observer, opens Nov. 20 with a return performance by the ever-popular DuffleBag Theatre. The Canadian company performs its interactive, comedic take on the classic fairy tale 鈥淪now White鈥 at 7 p.m. in Marvel Theatre.
Due to the ongoing building project at Rockefeller, the second Kaleidoscope event will be held in Rosch Recital Hall in Mason Hall. Trout Fishing in America, an eclectic folk/rock band specializing in family music and children鈥檚 songs, performs on March 11 at 7 p.m.
The World Travel Series, sponsored by Fredonia Place, will offer three travel-adventure films this season, opening Oct. 17 with 鈥淐uba鈥檚 Secret Side鈥 with filmmaker Karen Muller at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall. The film is particularly timely with recent efforts to re-establish formal relations between the United States and Cuba. In November, the series looks at one of the great wonders of North America with 鈥淭he Great Rocky Mountain RV Adventure, Part Two鈥 with John Holod. The film will be presented on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall. Part one was presented as part of the 2011-12 World Travel Series. Award-winning filmmaker Rick Ray returns to Fredonia to close out the series on Saturday, April 9 with 鈥淭he Promised Land: Adventures in the Middle East鈥 at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall. Ray鈥檚 work highlights the paradoxes of the Middle East on a journey through Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Tickets to all events in the above series are available through the Campus Ticket Office in the Williams Center, by phone at 716-673-3501 and online at www.fredonia.edu/tickets. The events are also part of Rockefeller Arts Center鈥檚 鈥淢ix & Match鈥 season ticket plan in which discounts are available with the purchase of at least three different events. Call the Ticket Office at 716-673-3501 for more details.