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Christmas Concert Special Premieres Worldwide Dec. 19, 2007 The sounds of the season return as the world-renowned choirs of St. Olaf College star in CHRISTMAS AT ST. OLAF, a new one-hour PBS holiday special to air nationwide on Wednesday, December 19 at 10pm ET/ 9 pm CT (check local listings). The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is one of America’s oldest musical Christmas celebrations and has become an honored holiday tradition. It is listed as one of five significant global holiday events not to miss by The New York Times International Datebook, and has been featured in such publications as TV Guide, The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Five choral ensembles and the St. Olaf Orchestra – over 500 student musicians strong – will perform a rich repertoire of Christmas compositions along with familiar carols and hymns from around the world. “There is nothing, anywhere, like St Olaf’s Christmas celebration,” says Phil Byrd, who has directed television programs with a number of America’s great choruses, and who is the producer/director of the last two St. Olaf Christmas specials. “Few choral ensembles — professional or amateur — perform at the level of St. Olaf’s choirs,” he says. CHRISTMAS AT ST. OLAF marks the eighth time Twin Cities Public Television has collaborated with St. Olaf College to bring the Christmas Festival to national PBS audiences. “PBS is delighted to present CHRISTMAS AT ST. OLAF, fast becoming one of our most anticipated holiday traditions,” said John F. Wilson, PBS Sr. Vice President and Chief TV Programming Executive. “The caliber of the performances and arrangements through the years has been consistently world class.” This year, for the first time ever, the festival will also be simulcast live — from St. Olaf’s bucolic campus in high definition via satellite — to more than 190 movie theatres from coast to coast. B.J. Johnson, manager of St. Olaf Music Organizations, says, “Millions of people around the world have made the St. Olaf Christmas Festival part of their holiday tradition through PBS. The high-definition simulcast to movie theaters across the country carries this tradition into the 21st century.” This year’s festival blends excerpts from Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St. Pauland Honegger's King David with new, specially commissioned works for chorus and orchestra. Anton Armstrong, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, says this year’s theme, Where Peace and Hope and Love Abide,aims to explore global citizenship and the spiritual dimension of the holiday season. “Since 1912 the St. Olaf Christmas Festival has been a gift to an increasingly global community,” he explains. “In a country and world that seems to be engulfed in greater dimensions of social and political strife, the 2007 St. Olaf Christmas Festival seeks to proclaim the message of peace, love and hope to all who will hear these concerts live or through various media broadcasts.” More than 12,000 students, alumni and friends of the college attend the four sold-out performances presented on the St. Olaf College campus every December. “We are delighted that once again St. Olaf College can share the Christmas Festival with audiences all across America,” says St. Olaf College President David R. Anderson. “One of the oldest and most distinguished musical celebrations of Christmas in America, the Christmas Festival reflects not only the excellence of the music program at St. Olaf, but also the college’s deep and enduring commitment to its Lutheran identity.” Anderson adds that he hopes the Christmas season becomes enriched and its meaning more deeply felt by all who experience the program. CHRISTMAS AT ST. OLAF is produced by Twin Cities Public Television. Executive Producer: Catherine Allan. Producer/Director: Phillip Byrd. ABOUT St. Olaf College ABOUT tpt
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