Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Liberal Arts wraps up the year with its annual burst of holiday spirit — the “Joys of the Season” arts showcase — as a thank-you to the campus community, its friends and supporters. 

The 30-minute broadcast will premiere Monday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. Central on MTSU’s True Blue TV and on MTSU’s Facebook page and YouTube Channel, serving as a special edition of the university’s monthly TV magazine show, “Out of the Blue.”

The program once again highlights the efforts and creativity of School of Music and Department of Theatre and Dance students and faculty with live recordings of several performances taken across campus in Hinton Hall, Tucker Theatre and the “Out of the Blue” TV studio.

“We are thrilled to showcase the talent of our creative and hardworking students in the College of Liberal Arts,” said Dean Leah T. Lyons, who co-hosts the program along with regular program host Andrew Oppmann, vice president for marketing and communications.

“Having the opportunity to feature our students in this special edition of ‘Out of the Blue’ is a highlight for us. This fantastic production would not have been possible without the mentorship and support provided by our dedicated faculty and staff.”

The show will repeat on True Blue TV throughout December and will air on News Channel 5+ in the Nashville market at 3:30 p.m. Central on Dec. 10.

True Blue TV airs on Comcast Xfinity channels 9 and 1096; and channel 9.1 on the MTSU campus cable. It also airs as channel 195 on DTC in Alexandria; digital channel 206 on United Communications in Chapel Hill; and among the PEG offerings found on channel 99 on AT&T U-verse in Middle Tennessee. True Blue TV is also available on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

“Joys of the Season” first started in 2015 as an evening of live performances and art displays in Tucker Theatre to showcase the college’s performing and fine arts departments as an appreciation of the community’s decades of support. 

After the program took a hiatus 2020 due to the pandemic and returned in an online format for the past two years, “Joys” returns once again in 2023 in a made-for-television format, which follows up two years of Telly Award wins — awards that honor excellence in video and TV across all types of screens — for its 2021 and 2022 productions.  

The 2023 “Joys of the Season” broadcast features: 

• The MTSU Steel Pan Ensemble, representing the School of Music’s Instrumental Performance Program, kicks off the performances with a mashup of “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Frosty the Snowman” arranged by Brian Mueller, music lecturer, and performed by ensemble students. 

• MTSU Dance Program students perform “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” choreographed by Jade Treadwell, assistant professor and program director, and originally from “The Nutcracker” ballet. The piece depicts Clara and the Nutcracker’s encounter with the snowflakes in the Fir Forest.

• MTSU School of Music’s Jazz Combo I members play Harry Belafonte’s hit “Mary’s Boy Child” arranged by Jamey Simmons, their music professor.

• Moira Cagle and Logan Purcell, musical theatre students, sing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” inspired by the Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé 2014 cover of the song. Kristi Shamburger, associate professor and interim department chair, directed the performance. 

• The MTSU Schola Cantorum performs the traditional British folk Christmas Carol “The Holly and the Ivy,” directed by Raphael Bundage, vocal performance professor and director of choral activities, and using an arrangement by H. Walford Davies.

• The MTSU Symphony Orchestra closes out the show with “Sleigh Bells” under direction from Carol Nies, associate music professor.

“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 3:30 p.m. Sundays and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings. 

It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play and as individual interview segments on Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3. 

Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.  

Learn more about MTSU’s Arts programs at https://mtsu.edu/mtsuarts. Learn more about the opportunities at MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts at https://mtsu.edu/liberalarts. 

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)