Jim Witter & a live band bring the music of Elton John & Billy Joel to Nazareth College Arts Center on 4/25

ROCHESTER, NY (04/01/2014)(readMedia)-- Nazareth College Arts Center is pleased to present Jim Witter's Piano Men (A Musical Journey Through the '70s Featuring the Music of Elton John and Billy Joel) on Friday, April 25, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the Callahan Theater. Piano Men is a feel-good, multimedia evening featuring a live band and hits by two of the world's most popular contemporary songwriters, alongside the memorable headlines, people, and events that shaped a decade!

Visit http://artscenter.naz.edu/newsroom/media-resources for photos.

About the Performance

Jim Witter's Piano Men (A Musical Journey Through the '70s Featuring the Music of Elton John and Billy Joel) salutes two of the world's most popular contemporary songwriters-Elton John and Billy Joel. This multimedia concert also brings back the memorable headlines, automobiles, people, events, toys, and TV shows that shaped a decade.

Led by singer/songwriter and Dove and Juno Award nominee Jim Witter and his live band, Piano Men is a year-by-year hit parade that delights both those who lived through the 70s and fans of the decade and its music. Performed in front of a multimedia backdrop, the show has audiences remembering where they were when Neil Armstrong took one giant step onto the moon; reliving platform shoes and paisley polyester; and longing for their Easy-Bake Ovens and Mood Rings, all while singing along to hit tunes like "Your Song," "My Life," "Candle in the Wind," and "Just the Way You Are."

Witter and his band have performed Piano Men to rave reviews from critics throughout the United States and Canada. The show has also traveled overseas to Dubai, England, and Scotland, and will be making its premiere this fall in Holland.

Witter's website describes the performance as "a musical tapestry featuring the most-loved hits of Billy Joel and Elton John. Piano Men gives us the rare opportunity to put our cares aside and to view the world once again through the eyes of our youth. You'll laugh. You'll cheer. You'll sing out loud. And when you leave, you may just find a new spring in your step as you find yourself using old phrases again like 'far out!' or 'sit on it!'"

About Jim Witter

Jim Witter has been entertaining throughout the United States and Canada for more than 20 years, performing country, contemporary Christian, and the music of Billy Joel and Elton John.

As a child, Witter's mother would play the piano with him belting out everything from The Beatles to Broadway musicals. As a young man, Witter played in clubs and bars around Southern Ontario. He met his wife Rebecca in 1985 and together they worked to promote Witter's music. In 1990, one of his demos came to the attention of a Sony Music Canada executive. A record deal with a small independent label in Canada soon gave way to a multi-record deal with Curb Records of Nashville, home of Tim McGraw, Leanne Rimes, and Wynonna Judd. Witter has since recorded numerous records, had 10 top-10 radio hits in Canada, seven hit videos on Country Music Television, and impressive Billboard chart action in the U.S.

Witter's music and songwriting have earned him multiple awards and nominations from the Canadian Country Music Association, the Juno Awards, and most recently the Dove Awards in Nashville, where Witter's album Forgiveness was nominated for Inspirational Album of the year.

Tickets

Tickets to Jim Witter's Piano Men (A Musical Journey Through the '70s Featuring the Music of Elton John and Billy Joel) are $30, $45, and $60. For tickets, call – or visit – the Box Office: 585-389-2170; or order tickets online: artscenter.naz.edu.

The Nazareth College Arts Center Box Office is located on campus at 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14618. Regular box office hours are Monday-Friday, 11am-5pm and 11am until curtain time on performance days.

Sponsor Information

M&T Bank, Wendy's Restaurants of Rochester, and the New York State Council on the Arts sponsor the Nazareth College Arts Center's 2013-2014 subscription series. The performance by Jim Witter is sponsored by Kathleen and Jim Leo.

About the Nazareth College Arts Center

For more than 40 years, the Nazareth College Arts Center has served as a venue and educational resource for students, educators, visual and performing artists, and audiences to create, study, and experience all areas of the arts. These cultural programs support the College's curriculum in music, art, and theatre arts, and provide area residents with opportunities to experience exceptional dance, children's theatre, and international entertainment.

The Nazareth College Arts Center

• is a nonprofit institution.
• attracts more than 80,000 adults and children annually.
• is the premier presenter of world-class dance, children's theatre, and international entertainment in Rochester.
• is the performance home of Rochester City Ballet and world-renowned Garth Fagan Dance, as well as the home of Rochester Children's Theatre and Bach Children's Chorus.
• is the only area performing Arts Center located on a College campus.
• houses the Nazareth College departments of art, music, and theatre arts, which present exceptional theatre productions, musicals, operas, recitals, and art exhibitions each year (events are open to the public).
• serves as a venue for auditions, art classes, music lessons, recitals, fundraisers, lectures, community theater productions, camps, workshops, and graduations.
• provides access to arts and arts-in-education experiences for area youth.

For more information, visit artscenter.naz.edu.

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