December 16, 2002
PHILLIP Byrd (left), producer of "Christmas at Baylor," gives instruction the Faculty Brass Quintet before taping their performance in the Piper Great Hall at Truett Seminary. The High Definition Television special will be available for use by PBS stations nationwide next year. (Cliff Cheney/Baylor Photos)
PBS Christmas special filmed at Baylor
___WACO--This time next year, PBS stations across the nation will have access to a new Christmas special filmed in High Definition Television on the campus of Baylor University.
___An Emmy Award-winning producer who has worked on similar Christmas specials with St. Olaf College and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir gave creative direction to the project. Filming took place on the Baylor campus Dec. 1-7.
___"This is an outstanding opportunity for Baylor to showcase its talented students and faculty and to give the country a glimpse of our beautiful campus all decked out for the Christmas season," said Larry Brumley, associate vice president for external relations.
___The St. Olaf Christmas special has been a staple of PBS holiday broadcasts for several years. Stephen Hyde, director of choral activities at Baylor, sees this as Baylor's opportunity to gain similar national exposure.
___"I think so many people know about St. Olaf's, and they know it partly because of its Christmas show," he said. "It's an opportunity for people all over the country to know what fabulous students we have."
___About half the show will be assembled from two performances of the annual Baylor Christmas concert in Jones Concert Hall. That portion will feature the university's combined A Capella Choir and Concert Choir along with the Baylor Symphony Orchestra.
___The program also will include performances by the Faculty Brass Quintent, recorded in Truett Seminary's Piper Great Hall, and the Chamber Singers in Armstrong Browning Library's Foyer of Meditation.
___Baylor student carolers also were taped on campus to provide transitional footage in the program. Those scenes will highlight the Baylor campus.
___Baylor's television station, KWBU, is the presenting station for the special. When released next holiday season, it will be available for use by 374 Public Broadcasting System stations nationwide, who may opt either to use the program or not.
___The fact that the program will be available in High Definition Television format should be an asset, Brumley said. "Public broadcasters are starved for programs in High Definition Television."
___The result of this technology will be "spectacular," he predicted. "It's going to be the sharpest images, the clearest sound."
___The producer of the Baylor special is Phillip Byrd of Montclair, N.J. In addition to producing Christmas specials for St. Olaf and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, he recently has produced a holiday special featuring Jessye Norman, a Cincinnati Pops holiday program and an Atlanta Symphony gospel Christmas special.
___Others involved in the project include lighting director Cheryl Thacker, a former NBC lighting director who is a veteran of the "David Letterman Show," and audio producer John McClure, who has produced multiple albums with Leonard Berstein that have sold 10 million copies worldwide. Technical director Annett Deshotels hails from the "Oprah Winfrey Show."
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