ROB MATHES AND FRIENDS PERFORM 14TH ANNUAL ROB MATHES CHRISTMAS CONCERT DECEMBER 21 & 22, 2007

A HOLIDAY TRADITION – THE 14^th ANNUAL

ROB MATHES CHRISTMAS CONCERT

8:00 PM, DECEMBER 21 & 22, 2007

The Concert Hall at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College

(GREENWICH, Conn., November 2nd, 2007) – Music often takes center stage during the holidays, bringing the joy and tradition of the season to the forefront. And Rob Mathes, the Grammy and Emmy nominated music director, singer/songwriter, arranger, and record producer, takes the music of the holidays to a new level with his all-star band and musically rich renditions of classic carols and original songs. This year, make it your holiday tradition to see the 14^th annual ROB MATHES CHRISTMAS CONCERT, with shows at 8 p.m., Friday, December 21, and Saturday, December 22, 2007, at the Performing Arts Center in Purchase, N.Y. Joining Rob on stage are some of the top musicians in the New York metropolitan area - Will Lee on Bass from David Letterman's CBS Orchestra; Shawn Pelton on Drums from Saturday Night Live; Billy Masters on Guitar who has played with Suzanne Vega and Cry, Cry, Cry; vocals by award-winning blues, jazz and gospel singers Vaneese Thomas and James “D-Train” Williams, both who have worked with legends in the business including Eric Clapton and Michael Jackson; singer Ian Cron; and the 30-member Rob Mathes Friends & Saints Choir. Tickets for the concert are $30, $40 and $75 ($75 tickets are premium seating that includes a signed double CD of the newly released “Orchestral Songs” by Rob), and are available online at www.artscenter.org, by calling the Performing Arts Center Box Office (914-251-6200), or at The Music Source in Old Greenwich, Conn. (203-698-0444 or 1345 E. Putnam, Old Greenwich, Conn.).

While Rob Mathes has a loyal following, with thousands attending the Christmas Concert each year, those new to the concerts will be thrilled with the show that includes Rob’s contemplative songs along with his edgier versions of carols which can often veer towards the jazzier Ellington meets Miles Davis all the way to the rock ‘n roll of Pete Townshend with the band. This year Mathes will be celebrating the release of his first new CD in 6 years called “Orchestral Songs” and, as usual will be visiting some of his older Christmas Music not played at the Concerts in years as well as bringing in brand spanking new arrangements of carols.

“If there is a theme at all for me this year, it is gratitude. Every year, because of the enthusiasm of this remarkable audience of people that come, I am able to make world class music with my illustrious friends, among New York’s Finest musically. This is a great gift. I became a music producer, composer and arranger as opposed to the Pop star I wanted to be in high school. That being said, this concert allows us all to perform for a group of people that cheer as loudly and listen as attentively as the audience at a Radiohead concert. For this I am remarkably grateful. That “Gratitude” will result in a concert that hopefully will be our best ever, always our goal.” noted Mathes.

Rob has spent much of this year working with the MTV Video of The Year winners Panic! At The Disco. Their first record landed them on the cover of Rolling Stone and sold 2 million copies globally. Rob co-produced and arranged their version of Danny Elfman’s “This Is Halloween” for the re-release of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas last year. He and the band hit it off. They did not want the Rock Producer of the moment to do their next record (normally the way of most bands). They wrote a number of new songs both more musically exploratory and intricate than their first record and wanted a musician and composer that could help them essentially do anything they wanted musically from working with orchestra to getting post-modern guitar sounds. The project is one that Rob calls “the most significant music project I have done in a while in that it is young and intense, adventurous and endlessly creative. Working with these young kids has made me look at music the way I did when I discovered early records by The Who and Brian Eno-period David Bowie when I was 16. For this project I am also filled with “gratitude”. Mathes also worked extensively with Hip-Hop producer Just Blaze working on new records by Jay Z, Fabolous, and Ghostface Killah. Add to this his continuing work for producer Phil Ramone on projects like the soundtrack for the upcoming film “August Rush” and Country Star Shelby Lynne’s new record, his work for The Boston Pops, an upcoming Classical commission for The Nashville Symphony and Leonard Slatkin, and arrangements for pop stars Fall Out Boy, Bowling For Soup, Butch Walker and Avril Lavigne and you have the same as usual schizophrenic-genre bending Mathes universe.

“It is the only way I like it. Dad loved Dylan, Auntie Jan turned me onto Motown, Mom loved Chopin, and Uncle Skip loved Ellington. I was brought up on it all and I CANNOT live without all of that in my life and in my Christmas Concert.”

As if that weren’t enough, Mathes was nominated for an Emmy for musically directing the Kennedy Center Honors, which he will do this year for the fifth year in a row and finished his own long awaited double CD of incredible Orchestral Songs, which will debut at this year’s Christmas Concert. The Kennedy Center Honors, which airs on CBS on December 26^th, will celebrate 30 years and bestow its annual honors this year to Steve Martin, Diana Ross, Leon Fleisher, Martin Scorsese, and Brian Wilson.

Other credits in Rob’s repertoire include working with: Elton John, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Stevie Wonder, Vanessa Williams, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael McDonald, Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman, Hall and Oates, Yo Yo Ma, Renee Fleming and many more. Rob also had his talented hands involved with working on the score for the movie Astronaut Farmer and producing a record for Fernando Lima, a counter-tenor from Spain on EMI Classics, recorded with a full orchestra at Rob’s “home away from home,” Abbey Road Studios in London. After all of it, Rob still says that the focal point of his year and the highlight of his year are coming home and performing the Christmas Concerts.

The Christmas Concerts will feature music that embraces all aspects of the holiday season - from Christmas to Hanukkah. Rob will perform some new material, as well as audience favorites (When The Baby Grew Up, William The Angel, and Wake Up. It’s Christmas Morning) and include music for all faiths, including the beautiful Light In The Window written for a local fan and longtime supporter of the event, Rabbi Mark Golub. Rob also loves throwing in a little Bob Dylan each year with the song Ring Them Bells and will play his other much-loved and original Christmas favorites. Much of the new record “Orchestral Songs” was recorded with full Orchestra in London but Rob will perform a few of these more intimately at the concert celebrating this “long in the making” project’s release.

“I look forward to the Christmas Concert all year long,” said Rob. “I try to bring the joy of the holiday season to the shows, but with a sophistication to the music that rivals any holiday offering from an entertainment standpoint. It pleases me tremendously to know that my concerts have become part of a holiday tradition for many and I love being able to introduce my music to new audiences as well.”

Tickets for the Rob Mathes Christmas Concert are available online and can be obtained by logging onto www.artscenter.org, or through The Music Source in Old Greenwich (203-698-0444). Each year, the Rob Mathes Christmas Concert is held as a benefit for a charitable organization. This year, The Rob Mathes Christmas Concert will benefit XXXXXXXX and support XXXXXXXX efforts in XXXXXXXXXX. The concerts will be held on Friday, December 21, and Saturday, December 22, 2007, at the Performing Arts Center in Purchase, N.Y. To learn more about Rob Mathes, visit www.RobMathesMusic.com or www.RobMathes.com.