Lois Dawson, an acclaimed jazz/blues singer, composer and educator, will perform as part of Coastal Carolina University’s Cultural Arts Series and its African-American Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Wall Auditorium. Tickets are $10; $5 for students under age 18.

A native of Northampton County, N.C., Dawson has been performing as a soloist since age 10. As a teenager she served as a pianist for church choirs and was a leading vocalist with the campus gospel choir while an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dawson has performed at concerts throughout the country, opening for such jazz luminaries as Arturo Sandoval, Jerry Butler, Roy Ayers and Tom Browne. She has headlined the Duke University Jazz Series, Jazz at Brevard, the Stanford Jazz Workshop and the North Carolina Jazz Showcase. She was voted Critics Pick for Best Jazz Artist in 1996 and received a 1990 Indies Arts Award from the Independent Weekly magazine.

In concert, Dawson presents a variety of traditional African- American musical forms – jazz, blues and spirituals – as well as original compositions. Her song list includes such classics as It Don’t Mean a Thing, Blue Moon, Summertime, Skylark and When I Fall in Love.

Her self-produced debut recording, Sunrise, consisting of all original compositions, was released to favorable critical notices in 1998.

For more information, contact the Wheelwright Box Office at 349- 2502.