The Songmaker Series & Unity Of Charlottesville are very happy to welcome Chris Van Cleave for a special evening of music! He'll be joined by premier Pedal Steel Guitar player Muskrat Reames, for “Songs To Celebrate The Season & Connect Hearts". Chris’ love of acting, singing and songwriting have created a dual career his whole life. He performed in his first musical at the age of 12, and started writing songs that same year. In addition to his initial major label releases on Paramount Records with Laura Branigan and Walker Daniels (the original lead in Hair), Chris has independently produced eight albums, and scored two musicals. His strong, expressive voice, has been praised as rich, soulful, and melodic, and his song styles include folk, rock, country, R & B, jazz, reggae, & musical theater. Chris has opened for Kansas, Poco, Eric Burdon, Leon Russell, and Buckwheat Zydeco, and has collaborated in songwriting with Jim McCarty (Yardbirds), Peter Mason (Bee Gees) and Barry Mason (hit writer for Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdink). As an actor/singer, Chris starred in national tours of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, & performed principal roles in London’s West End theatre productions of Les Miserables, Chess, and Bernadette. Other notable roles include Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, & the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance. Chris has a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from the University of Virginia. Muskrat Reames has played for over 100 recording artists, along with many at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
"As a performer, Chris is world class. His music … food for the soul."--
Ray Shell, actor/singer, writer, producer, director: original "Rusty" in the London West End cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express, as well as original London casts of Miss Saigon, Children of Eden, The Lion King, and more.
John Hill--President of The Songmaker Series
The Songmaker Series is a Federally approved 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Organization
Concert Tickets are $20 Advanced (At Ticketleap) + $2.00 Online Fees / $24 At The Door