Two universities… two performing groups… two stages… two countries… one globally accessible show.

The University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI), Cayman’s premier provider of tertiary education, is partnering with West Chester University (WCU, the largest of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education) for a one-night-only concert, unlike anything that has ever been staged in the Cayman Islands.

Slated for Saturday, 10^th of December, 7:00 pm at the Crescent in Camana Bay and the West Chester Campus in Pennsylvania, ‘A Tale of Two Christmases’ is a choir and orchestra concert honouring Caribbean and North American holiday traditions through music. Audiences in both locations, as well as viewers all over the world watching through live stream, will be treated to the musical stylings of the UCCI Choir, the UCCI Pandemix Steel Pan Band, and WCU’s Jazz Ensemble.

The concert will celebrate the differences between Christmas in the Caribbean vis-à-vis the United States. UCCI students will perform a repertoire of Caribbean-inspired songs while their counterparts at WCU will offer traditional jazz and big band arrangements.

“This partnership, as it relates to this concert, is yet another facet to our quest for UCCI to have truly global reaches. Culture, music and scholarship are but three of the characteristics of our partnership with WCU,” said Mr Roy Bodden, JP, President of UCCI.

The concert marks the next stage of collaborations between the two universities following the implementation of distance learning initiatives earlier this year. Since the Summer 2016 term, UCCI students have benefitted from joining WCU courses through the Polycom system.

Staged in one of Cayman’s most popular venues during the biggest season of the year, A Tale of Two Christmases will be free and open to the public. President Bodden said, “I encourage you to attend the live performance in Camana Bay or enjoy the live stream courtesy of Digicel. Above all, please support us with your contributions.”

Donations can be made through the crowdfunding page on Indiegogo, https://igg.me/at/tale-two-christmases/. Funds raised will help underwrite the costs that will enable UCCI to spread holiday cheer to hundreds of local families while enriching visitors’ experience of the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean.

Furthermore, a portion of the funds collected will aid the development of the UCCI Performing Arts Programme, an initiative that seeks to shape young men and women into confident, productive individuals who demonstrate a strong work ethic and a sense of service to the community.

UCCI would like to acknowledge the support its main sponsor, Camana Bay, for the privilege of staging this performance at the Town Centre. Special thanks also go out to AI Rentals, Digicel, Foster’s Food Fair – IGA, Mr Sydney Shaw and Ms Berna Cummins. UCCI is grateful for the generosity which private citizens and various sector’s of the community have displayed in supporting this event.