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Blugold alumni and students take the stage at Pablo to open December

| Sarah Tweedale

An upcoming weekend of performances at Pablo Center at the Confluence features the musical talents of current and previous Blugolds in three spectacular concerts.

Swing Into Christmas!” brings jazz singer Michael Andrew (’87) back to Eau Claire to perform with UW-Eau Claire’s Grammy-nominated Jazz Ensembles I and II, alongside Swedish musical sensation Gunhild Carling of Postmodern Jukebox. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Pablo Center’s RCU Theatre.

Andrew is widely known for his two-year stint as the headline singer for Rockefeller Center’s world-famous Rainbow Room, his musical comedy roles, and his involvement with traveling bands Swingerhead and The Atomic Big Band. Andrew performed with the jazz ensembles earlier this month as part of Gatsby’s Gala.

The Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra welcomes two Wisconsin-born artists back to the state for “Ignore the Forecast!” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, in the Pablo Center’s Jamf Theatre. Andrew Neesley (’03) is an award-winning jazz trumpeter and inventive composer who has been Grammy-nominated four times for “Best Latin Jazz Album” and appeared in top venues across the country. Neesley performs alongside multitalented vocalist Mel Flannery, who has been influenced by musicians Ani DiFranco, Joni Mitchell and Nancy Sinatra, among others.

The UW-Eau Claire Holiday Concert is a highlight of the season that features hundreds of UW-Eau Claire students in nine ensembles and choral groups. This year’s spirited program, to be performed at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, in the Pablo Center’s RCU Theatre, includes three original pieces composed by UW-Eau Claire alumni: Selections from “Four Sacred Settings” by Heidi Joosten (’13), “I Will Lift My Eyes” from “Three Songs of Salvation” by Zachary Moore (’15) and an encore performance of the 2018 commissioned piece “Winter Song” by Kyle Newmaster (’99), which incorporates text from UW-Eau Claire professor emeritus Max Garland’s poem “For a Johnson County Snowfall.”

Join us for one, two, or all three of these noteworthy events that feature the best of UW-Eau Claire. Tickets are available through pablocenter.org.