Cherish the Ladies Coming to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre, 3/22

Celebrating 30 years of music making, the Grammy-winning, first all-women Celtic music ensemble, Cherish the Ladies, comes to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Tuesday, March 22 at 8 p.m.

Tickets, priced starting at $20 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/. More information about Cherish the Ladies available at http://cherishtheladies.com/

Under the leadership of All-Ireland flute and whistle champion Joanie Madden, named by The Irish Voice Newspaper as one of the Top 25 most influential Irish Americans of the past quarter century, Cherish the Ladies creates an evening that includes a spectacular blend of virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements, and stunning step dancing, combining all the facets of Irish culture into an emotional and witty performance. Joining the Ladies are the wonderful voices of The Ennis Sisters from Newfoundland, legendary fiddler Liz Carroll and the incredible dancing of Garrett Coleman, Julie Fitzgerald, and Jason Oremus, former principal dancer of Riverdance.

"It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn't enjoy what they do," says the Boston Globe of Cherish the Ladies. The band was formed in New York City in 1985 to celebrate the rise of women in what had been a male-dominated Irish music scene and has since toured the world, played the White House and the Olympics, recorded 16 outstanding albums including a live recording, "An Irish Homecoming," which was simultaneously videotaped for an for an Public Television Special that is airing across America and recently won an Emmy.

The New York Times calls their music "passionate, tender, and rambunctious," and the Washington Post praises their "astonishing array of virtuosity." They've won recognition as the BBC's Best Musical Group of the Year and named Top North American Celtic Group the Irish Music Awards and not to mention having a street named after them in the Bronx! They've collaborated with such musicians as The Boston Pops, The Clancy Brothers, the Chieftains, Vince Gill, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Don Henley, Arlo Guthrie and Maura O'Connell as well as being the featured soloist with over 250 nights of symphony orchestras.

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.