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CHRISTMAS AT ST. OLAF:
WHERE PEACE AND LOVE AND HOPE ABIDE
DECEMBER 24 AT 8 PM
EIGHT/KAET-TV

The sounds of the season return as the renowned choirs of St. Olaf College star in Christmas at St. Olaf: Where Peace and Love and Hope Abide, a new holiday special airing Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2009 at 8 p.m. on Eight/KAET.

The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is one of America’s oldest musical Christmas celebrations and has become an honored holiday tradition. Listed by The New York Times International Datebook as one of five significant global holiday events not to miss, the festival has been featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and TV Guide.

Five choral ensembles and the St. Olaf Orchestra — more than 500 student musicians strong — perform a rich repertoire of Christmas compositions, as well as familiar carols and hymns from around the world.

This year’s festival blends excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul and 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 Love and Hope Abide,aims to explore global citizenship and the spiritual dimension of the holiday season.

“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.

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.”

About Eight/KAET-TV
Eight, Arizona PBS specializes in the education of children, in-depth news and public affairs, lifelong learning, and the celebration of arts and culture — utilizing the power of noncommercial television, the Internet, educational outreach services, and community-based initiatives. The PBS station began broadcasting from the campus of Arizona State University on January 30, 1961. Now more than 80 percent of Arizonans receive the signal through a network of translators, cable and satellite systems. With more than 1.3 million viewers each week, Eight consistently ranks among the most-viewed public television stations per capita in the country. Arizonans provide more than 60 percent of the station’s annual budget. For more information, visit www.azpbs.org.

Eight is a member-supported service of Arizona State University.