Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Liberal Arts has the perfect gift as a thank-you to all the university’s neighbors, friends and supporters: the 2022 edition of “Joys of the Season,” the annual holiday-themed arts showcase, available again on TV and online.

Premiering Monday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. Central on MTSU’s True Blue TV and the university’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, the 30-minute program is a special edition of the university’s monthly TV magazine show, “Out of the Blue.”

The 2022 “Joys of the Season” episode is available to watch above.

The show will repeat on True Blue TV throughout December and will air on News Channel 5+ in the Nashville market and on stations in at least 17 states. The Nashville Public Library also will feature the MTSU holiday program on its YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/NashvilleLibrary.

“Joys of the Season” once again focuses on the creativity of students and faculty from MTSU’s School of Music and Department of Theatre and Dance, recorded live inside the university’s Hinton Hall and Tucker Theatre and in the home of theatre associate professor Kristi Shamburger.

“The versatility of our College of Liberal Arts stands out in this show, ” says liberal arts Dean Leah Lyons. “There’s truly something for everyone to enjoy in this fantastic production. I’m glad that the college once again had the opportunity to be part of this edition of ‘Out of the Blue.’”

“Joys of the Season” began in 2015 as an evening of live performances and displays in Tucker Theatre to showcase the College of Liberal Arts’ performing and fine arts departments and to express the university’s appreciation to the community for its decades of support.

The program took a pandemic-forced hiatus in 2020. For 2021, as the health risks for public gatherings continued, organizers realized that they could reach a wider audience and keep everyone safer for future arts events by taking the 2021 “Joys” to the screen.

That first broadcast, which earned national Telly Awards for cultural programming and its opening segment, also generated such a positive response that MTSU chose to take its season’s greetings online again for 2022.

The 2022 “Joys of the Season” broadcast features:

• Unique performances of “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by the School of Music’s MTSU Chamber Orchestra, conducted by violin and viola professor Andrea Dawson, and “One Sweet Little Baby” by the premier singers of the MTSU Schola Cantorum, directed by vocal performance professor Raphael Bundage, director of choral activities.

• MTSU Dance Program students performing “Whimsical Candy Cane Swirls,” a piece choreographed by assistant professor and program director Jade Treadwell from “The Nutcracker” ballet, focusing on the Russian “candy cane” dancers.

• An opportunity to showcase the musical theatre abilities of Shamburger’s MTSU Theatre students with a performance of “We Need a Little Christmas” from the Tony-winning Broadway musical “Mame.”

• An arrangement of “The Christmas Song” by the SOAL, or Soprano/Alto, Chorale, featuring MTSU alumna and jazz studies graduate student Julia Rich as guest soloist and senior music industry major Noah Huseman on piano. School of Music instructor and chorales director Angela Tipps directs the SOAL Chorale in this performance.

• The MTSU Steel Pan Ensemble, representing the School of Music’s Instrumental Performance Program, closing out the show with a rendition of “Sleigh Bells” specially arranged for the celebration by percussion faculty member Brian Mueller.

MTSU’s Facebook page is at https://facebook.com/mtsublueraiders, and its YouTube channel is https://youtube.com/user/mtsunews.

“Out of the Blue” also airs daily on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Central and on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, as well as on NewsChannel5+ at 3:30 p.m. Sundays.

In addition to the regular daily airtimes, True Blue TV also will rebroadcast the special “Joys of the Season” episode on cable Channel 9 at:

• 11 :30 p.m. Dec. 5 and again at 6 p.m. every Monday night in December (Dec. 12, 19 and 26).

• 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, and every Tuesday night in December (Dec. 13, 20 and 27).

• 9:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, and every Friday night in December (Dec. 16, 23 and 30).

And beginning at noon Saturday, Dec. 24, until noon Sunday, Dec. 25, “Joys of the Season” will air continuously on True Blue TV.

All airtimes are Central.

“Out of the Blue” also is available as iTunes and Google Play podcasts and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

The College of Liberal Arts established its MTSU Arts program in 2011 to support public performances and exhibits by the university’s art, theatre and dance departments and the School of Music.

For more information about the show and about MTSU Arts, visit www.mtsu.edu/mtsuarts. To learn more about MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts and its programs, visit www.mtsu.edu/liberalarts.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)