WETA Arts, a local program from WETA, celebrates the visual and performing arts in the DC area. Songs of the Season has become a holiday tradition here at WETA and WETA Arts, bringing together local choral groups for an hour-long program. Senior Producer Judy Meschel writes a guest blog sharing the story of how Songs of the Season came to be, how it's grown, and how more communities can be involved in the coming years. Songs of the Season is streaming now on WETA+.
WETA Arts Songs of the Season is a wonderful thing that grew out of very bad circumstances.
In 2020, we were deep in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic – before vaccines and before there was even a clear understanding of transmission pathways. Among the many cultures brought to a standstill by this deadly disease was the shared world of live music and the bond between performers and their audiences, particularly concerts that require close collaboration among musicians and audiences gathered shoulder to shoulder. With many choirs' budgets built around a successful holiday concert, scores of choral directors faced an abrupt and daunting financial void.
Two choir directors, Margaret Nomura Clark of the Children’s Chorus of Washington and Michael Ehrlich, then of The Vocal Arts of Fairfax, had an idea. What if area choral groups submitted videos of performances from previous seasons, which they would assemble into a holiday program for public television? It would be the choirs' gift to their fans and to the broader public, while reminding people that their favorite ensembles would someday be back on stage. They persuaded many choral groups to sign on and sent the proposal to WETA.
WETA General Manager Miguel E. Monteverde Jr. was intrigued by the idea and sensed its potential. But the choirs didn't have experience with the technical requirements of producing a television program – obtaining music rights and legal clearances, creating closed-captioning, and managing the many other details required for broadcast.
That’s where WETA Arts came in. Editors Doug Johncox and Jeff Cook, Associate Producer Samantha Highsmith, intern Lea Warshaw, Henninger Media Services' crack sound and color team, and I took on the task of making the videos look and sound their best. Margaret, Michael, and a musician panel did the heavy lifting of music adjudication. That basic system continues today. Each year, we learn how to do things better – how to make submission easier for choirs, adjudication more efficient, polishing the final programs even better. We've developed guidelines and tips for improving audio and video recordings, and we offer personalized briefings with choirs that want them. We start the conversation early about how to maximize the likelihood of success, and every year we receive more and more submissions.
The latest improvement? This year, for the first time, you can see all six years of WETA Arts Songs of the Season on our new app, WETA+. That's six hours of wonderful choral music – perfect for your celebrations and for filling your home with joy.
That's in addition to our regular broadcast schedule, which includes four airings during the week of December 21st on WETA/PBS, and on Christmas Day morning on WETA Metro, as well as on-demand viewing on YouTube of the whole show or individual performances.
One thing you'll notice in any episode of WETA Arts Songs of the Season is the diversity of our deep and broad choral music scene. You might attend a holiday performance or two in person, but you're unlikely to venture very far from home - either geographically or stylistically. After all, part of the joy of the holiday is tradition. But with our program, you can enjoy familiar tunes while also discovering other communities, genres, and choral ensembles you may never have encountered otherwise. We feature choruses as varied as The Thirteen in intimate settings, to the vast Encore Creativity for Older Adults blowing the roof off the Kennedy Center, to children’s choirs, gospel groups, and barbershop-style ensembles. You hear music in Latin, English, Spanish, Hebrew, German, and other languages and traditions.
This year, you’ll see eighteen choruses - and hear a nineteenth under the credits.
And in our next innovation, WETA Classical is broadcasting some of this year's finest submissions. It’s one more way we can support our magnificent choral arts scene – the very reason this project began. If you hear it something you love, check out the videos, whether on WETA/PBS, WETA/Metro, YouTube or WETA+. And, support your local choir in person, and encourage them to submit! They could be the biggest stars of next year’s show.
For more information on the submission process, visit weta.org/localchoirs. For specific questions, please reach out to arts@weta.org.
To watch on the air:
WETA PBS
Sunday, December 21 at 5 p.m.
Monday, December 22 at 9 p.m.
Tuesday, December 23 at 3 p.m.
Wednesday, December 24 at 8 a.m. & 4 p.m.
WETA Metro
Monday, December 8 at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, December 9 at 2 p.m.
Thursday, December 25 at 10 a.m.
PBS PASSPORT
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA+ and PBS Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.