Musical Tribute to Big Band Era of '40's at Plaza del Sol Performance Hall in February

Northridge, CA: Climb aboard the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" as Five by Design's RADIO DAYS takes its Northridge audience on a ride over the radio airwaves on Saturday, February 24, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 25, at 2 p.m. at the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall, (formerly the Performing Arts Center) at Cal State Northridge-- featuring a 13-piece BIG BAND orchestra LIVE on stage! Specially priced faculty/staff and senior tickets to this gala, usually $55, are only $40, with seats still reserved for CSUN employees in the front orchestra sections. Bring a special guest with you to enjoy this affectionate look at the past!

Honoring American's greatest generation, Five by Design recreates a poignant time capsule of American life during the war years. Radio Days recreates the programming, soap operas, game shows, adventure serials, commercials, and the songs that were etched in the nation's psyche. As "Sentimental Journey" opens the production, the audience is transported to a seemingly simpler time when an evening's entertainment emanated from the amber glow of vacuum tubes in a wooden cabinet.

Paying tribute to the vocal groups fronting the big bands in the 1940's, Radio Days interweaves music from the likes of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. The hit parade continues with musical memories like the Lone Ranger, soap operas (Our Gal Sunday), game shows (Kollege of Musical Knowledge), and celebrity "appearances" by Kay Kyser, Betty Grable, and Carmen Miranda. And of course, that timeless music: I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo, Big Noise From Winnetka, Moonlight in Vermont, Juke Box Saturday Night, I'll be Seeing You..you get the idea!

Minneapolis-based Five by Design has toured extensively throughout the continental US and Canada-even Istanbul, Turkey! The ensemble has gained national exposure with appearances on syndicated media broadcasts, including National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition Sunday," and "Swingin' Down the Lane" and have been featured in "Symphony" magazine.

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Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Headlines Performance Hall Tribute to New Orleans

NORTHRIDGE, CA -- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy swings into the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall (formerly the Performing Arts Center) at California State University, Northridge, Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 8 p.m. This performance will feature new selections from the release of Save My Soul, their latest album, called a love letter to the music of New Orleans.

Tickets, normally $45, are specially priced for CSUN Faculty and Staff at only $35, and may be purchased at the Ticket Office, located in the Plaza del Sol/University Student Union. Student tickets are only $20! This will be a quick sell-out, so order your tickets now!

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has done more than any other band to fuel the swing revival of the '90s, due largely to the group's appearance in the 1996 film Swingers. The combo has approached their fifth album with more gusto and verve than ever, infusing their old-school jive and greasy horns with a New Orleans sensibility and panache and, in the process, created their strongest album yet. Although their songs sound like they were lifted right out of the Zoot-suited '40s, the band writes all their own material, taking swing into a raw and modern direction.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy now carries on the tradition of the legendary big bands and orchestras by touring non-stop, performing over 100 concerts each year around the world. Like the Glen Miller Orchestra, Benny Goodman, and the Count Basie Band, BBVD sells out shows to audiences of all ages in cities as far flung as Honolulu, HI, St. Petersburg, FL, even making an appearance at last summer's Pori Festival in Finland. Cal State Northridge welcomes BBVD back home to their local turf, returning to their California roots for this night of fun, nostalgia and SWING!

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Colorful costumes, lively music, festive settings, and exuberant dancing combine for a day of magic and seasonal joy on Sunday, December 3 at 2 p.m. at the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall. Fiesta Navidad is a traditional holiday celebration from Mexico that incorporates music, dancing, and theater. Some of its traditions are ancient, having evolved from the winter feasts of indigenous Mexicans. The happiness is not only evident, it's contagious, as the stage overflows with the colorful costumes of Mexico, the exuberance of Folklorico dancers, and the virtuosity of the mariachi musicians. Tickets for CSUN Faculty and Staff are only $25 for this holiday spectacular!

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On Friday, December 8, at 8 p.m., experience The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, who have focused worldwide attention on the vast body of folk music termed "African-American." After sold-out European, US and Canadian tours, as well as the Middle and Far East, Russia, Africa, and South America, the Jubilee Singers are among the most honored singing ensembles in the world. They have earned international acclaim for their vast repertoire of African-American folk music, focusing on the rich genre known as Negro Spirituals as well as gospel, secular folk songs, calypsos and other African-Caribbean and African vocal forms. Their repertory also consists of concert works by distinguished African-American composers and arrangers along with Classical Opera, Sacred Music and Musical Theater-and for this holiday season, many special traditional favorites! For CSUN faculty and staff, tickets only $35 each.

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A Christmas Carol has become a welcomed holiday tradition at the Performance Hall, as the Metropolitan Educational Theatre offers another glorious production of the classic Dickens tale on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 17, at 2 p.m. Family focused prices are $15-$35, with Faculty/Staff $20.