Linda Eder to Perform Special Holiday Concert in CFA

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Linda Eder at 8 p.m. on Dec. 16 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. Tickets go on sale June 9 at 10 a.m. The concert is sponsored by GEICO.

After performing to capacity crowds at the center in both April and December of 2004, Linda Eder returns by popular demand. Eder is a recording artist, concert sensation and Broadway star universally acclaimed for her incredible range, both vocally and stylistically.  The concert will feature holiday classics intermingled with standards and Broadway favorites.

"A voice that's as immense as Garland's and, in its own way, as sensuous as Fitzgerald's," says Chicago Tribune.

Eder was born in Brainerd, Minn., to immigrant parents who exposed her to all kinds of music, pop and classical, but three singers influenced her more than any others. "From the time I was a kid," she says," my 'teachers' were Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and [classical/jazz soprano] Eileen Farrell."

Eder spent much of her 20s perfecting her vocals and stage presence. Her big break came in 1988 on the TV show "Star Search," where she reigned a record 13 weeks. That led to a lead role in the 1990 Broadway-bound musical "Jekyll & Hyde."

She recorded seven Atlantic and Angel albums between 1994 and 2004, each a blend of standards, pop hits and originals, and each showcasing her extravagant vocal gifts. "By Myself: The Songs of Judy Garland" (Angel) is her most recent recording, hitting stores in fall 2005. In its 11 tracks, Eder pulls off the impossible, paying tribute to her idol while making the timeless Garland songs her own.

Over the years, passionate fans across the country packed concert halls, including New York's Carnegie Hall. Among her many milestones, Eder has been profiled by the Bravo Network, had a solo concert run at Broadway's Gershwin Theater, and performed the track "Gold" to which Kristi Yamaguchi skated to during the Opening Ceremony at the 2002 Winter Olympics. In addition to music and motherhood, she hosted "Trail MIX," a primetime television special she created for Animal Planet which premiered January 2006.

Tickets for Linda Eder are $49, $45, $41, $37 and $20 for students. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location. Students (of any school) must present valid student ID at the Center Box Office to receive discount.