WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum selling Christian music artists Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman will join forces for the “The United Tour” at 7 p.m. March 29 in Purdue University’s Elliott Hall of Music. Purdue Convocations is presenting the concert.

This tour showcases two of Christian music’s most recognized and popular artists. Together, Chapman and Smith have garnered eight Grammy Awards, 96 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, 77 No. 1 singles and more than 30 gold and platinum albums. The idea for the tour came shortly after Chapman and Smith spent time together in the United Kingdom working on the CompassionArt project, which brought more than 10 Christian music singers, songwriters and worship leaders together to write and record a collection of songs for charity.

Chapman has sold more than 10 million records, including two platinum albums and seven gold albums. Along with his Grammy Awards, he has won an American Music Award, has recorded 44 No. 1 U.S. radio hits and been awarded 54 Dove Awards, more than any other artist to date. Since his recording career began in 1987, he has recorded 16 projects with Sparrow Records.

Throughout his 25-year career as a recording artist, Smith has amassed a catalog of achievements, including an American Music Award, three Grammy Awards and 13 nominations, 42 Dove Awards and 33 No. 1 radio hits. In addition, he holds 16 gold and five platinum albums for career sales approaching 15 million.

Premium tickets are $55 and regular tickets are $35 for adults and $30 for students and children under 18. Bargain tickets also are available for $20. All prices include a facilities fee.

Tickets will go on sale to Purdue and Ivy Tech Lafayette students, and Purdue faculty, staff and retirees with a current identification card at 10 a.m. Feb. 13 at the Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center box offices or at (765) 494-3933. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 14 through Ticketmaster at (765) 743-5151 and http://www.ticketmaster.com.

Friends of Convocations may order advance tickets through noon Feb. 9 by calling (765) 494-9712. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. The deadline to reserve group seats is noon Feb. 9. For information, call (765) 496-1977.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Baroque Band, Chicago’s first and only period-instrument orchestra, will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 in the Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom.

The program, which is presented by Purdue Convocations, is titled “Reach for the Skies,” and will feature Garry Clarke, the Baroque Band founder and artistic director. Clarke, a former violinist with the Academy of Ancient Music, will appear with special guest David Hansen, countertenor. The performance will include works by Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Bonocini, Riccardo Broschi, George Frideric Handel and Christoph Willibald Gluck.

“The Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom, with its resonant acoustics, will serve as an ideal location for this tour de force of vocal and opera counterpoint,” said Abby Eddy, director of marketing for Purdue Convocations. Beverage service will complete the setting.

A pre-show discussion with Clarke and Hansen will take place at 7 p.m. in Purdue Memorial Union, Room 118.

Established in 2007 as Chicago’s first period-instrument orchestra, the Baroque Band is known for its high artistic standards and compelling programs. It has already joined the city’s elite circle of musical organizations, Eddy said.

Seating will be general admission. Tickets are $26 for adults and $16 for children 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Baroque Band tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster outlets. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more can be ordered at (765) 496-1977.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Grammy Award-winning singer and ]songwriter Jason Mraz will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in Purdue University’s Elliott Hall of Music.

Purdue’s Student Concert Committee is presenting the performance.

In 2002, Mraz’s first studio album, “Waiting For My Rocket To Come,” a blend of folk, pop, hip-hop and roots rock, was released. The platinum-selling album received critical praise and spawned chart-topping singles. Since then he has released the live CD/DVD “Tonight Not Again,” Grammy award-winning “MR.A-Z” and a digital-only live album “Selections For Friends” in 2006.

His current release, “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard chart. The first single, “I’m Yours,” is a hit across the globe with more than 20 million plays on YouTube and has been nominated for two Grammy awards: Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The album also features “Lucky,” a duet with new platinum singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat.

Mraz has previously toured with Alanis Morissette and the Rolling Stones.

All tickets are $35; prices include a facility fee. Tickets go on sale to Purdue and Ivy Tech Lafayette students, and Purdue faculty, staff and retirees with a current identification card at 10 a.m. Jan. 16 at the Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center box offices or at (765) 494-3933. Tickets for the general public go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 through Ticketmaster at (765) 743-5151 and http://www.ticketmaster.com .

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Seventy-five years after the curtain opened before an audience of 200 at the first Purdue Christmas Show held in Fowler Hall, Purdue Musical Organizations will present “Christmas is Calling You Home” Dec. 12-14 in Elliott Hall of Music.

Purdue Musical Organizations director Bill Griffel said everyone involved is grateful that so many friends, family, alumni and community members make the annual Purdue Christmas Show a part of their holiday plans. For the special 75th anniversary performances, 130 alumni from every era of PMO’s history will join the student performers on stage, he said.

Along with the returning alumni, campus and community performers in the show include members of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, Purduettes, Purdue Bells, All Campus and Community Chorale, Heart & Soul and the PMO Kids Choir.

Griffel, who will direct the show for the first time this year, said the audience members get a different impression for every show they see.

Thousands see the show live and millions will see the 2007 production through broadcasts on public television and radio networks.

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Dec. 12; noon, 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 13; and noon and 4 p.m. Dec. 14. Tickets are $20 for students age 13 through college; $26 for adults; $24 for seniors age 65 and older; and $12 for children age 12 and under. For information or to order tickets, visit the Stewart Center, Pao Hall or Elliott Hall box offices or call (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.

Purdue Musical Organizations also will offer a special children’s matinee at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 12. Children’s tickets are $10 per student for groups of 49 or less; $8 per student for groups of 50-99; and $6 per student for groups of 100 or more. For this performance, teachers, chaperones and bus drivers will be admitted at no charge. For information about the student matinee, call Monica Ruberg at (765) 494-3947 or (800) 893-3941.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Stand-up comedian Lewis Black will perform as part of his Comedy Central Live “Let Them Eat Cake” tour at 8 p.m. Sept. 7 in Purdue University’s Elliott Hall of Music.

Purdue’s Student Concert Committee is presenting the performance, which is produced by Live Nation.

“Lewis Black is one of the most prolific and popular performers working today,” said Laura Clavio, Purdue Convocations assistant director and Student Concert Committee adviser. “He executes a brilliant trifecta as stand-up comedian, actor and author. Black’s live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. A passionate performer who is more an angry optimist than mean-spirited curmudgeon, he’s perfected expressing what the rest of us cannot say in polite company.”

Receiving critical acclaim, he performs more than 200 nights a year to sell-out audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. He is one of few performers to sell out multiple renowned theaters including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City Center and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In 2007, Black received a Grammy award for “Best Comedy Album” for “The Carnegie Hall Performance” stand-up CD released by Comedy Central Records.

In 2006, Black had a breakout year as an actor. He co-starred with Robin Williams in Barry Levinson’s “Man of the Year” (Universal Pictures), appeared as “the fake dean of a fake college” in Steve Pink’s “Accepted” (Universal Pictures) and as the harried airport manager in Paul Feig’s “Unaccompanied Minors” (Warner Brothers). In addition, he lent his voice to the role of “Jimmy” in Bob Saget’s parody, “Farce of the Penguins” (Thinkfilm).

In August 2007, he was the first stand-up comedian to perform in concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In December 2007, he was part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Christmas Show – along with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong, Ronan Tynan and Miss USA Rachel Smith – that entertained U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain and Italy.

In the midst of a rigorous touring schedule and several TV appearances, Black’s first book, “Nothing’s Sacred” (Simon and Schuster, 2005) debuted on “The New York Times” Best Seller List. He recently released a second book (Penguin, June 2008) titled, “Me of Little Faith.” It is a humorous exploration of religion and faith in which he examines how the rules and constraints of religion have affected his life and the lives of us all, Clavio said.

“His hilarious experiences with rabbis, Mormons, gurus, psychics and even the joy of a perfect round of golf give Black the chance to expound upon what we believe and why – in the language of a shock jock and with the heart of an iconoclast,” she said.

Tickets for Lewis Black are $42.50 for the general public and $30 for Purdue and Ivy Tech students and children under age 19; prices include a facilities fee.

Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center box offices, at (765) 494-3933, and through Ticketmaster at (765) 743-5151 and Ticketmaster.com.