Celebration on WITF TV to close out 2020

Join Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Patti LaBelle and more to celebrate America’s irrepressible strength.

• Fred Vigeant
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Fred Vigeant is WITF's Director of Programming and Promotions for TV and Radio. Fred manages the schedules for our radio and television platforms. He also analyzes audience research and manages the public affairs program Smart Talk. Previously, Fred was at WRVO in Oswego, NY for 12 years serving in various roles including Program Director and before that Operations Manager. Fred graduated from the State University of New York College at Oswego with a B.A. in Mass Communications and Broadcasting.

 PBS

Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell perform a duet with the American Pops Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Luke S. Frazier.

The star-studded performance—filmed at George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts—encourages our nation to come together and celebrate our irrepressible strength as we welcome the New Year. Despite the enormity of COVID-19 and the significant presence of social injustice, this special evening of wide-ranging music joins us in the ever-present pursuit of uniting as one America.

Filmed at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in front of a small, socially-distanced live audience and under strict COVID-19 mitigation procedures, United in Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America features performances by: Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton multi-Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell; world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming; celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves; multi Grammy- and Tony Award-nominated artist Josh Groban; rising opera star Soloman Howard; recording artist and Broadway star Morgan James; 26-time Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winner Juanes; Grammy Award-winning and world-renowned artist Patti LaBelle; internationally celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma; six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald; two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell; celebrated actor, playwright and professor Anna Deavere Smith; world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet; alongside The American Pops Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Luke Frazier. Performances by the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestra JoAnn Falletta, were filmed in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center and are also part of this special broadcast.

In addition to the abovementioned musical appearances, interviews with artists were conducted onsite at George Washington’s Mount Vernon by David M. Rubenstein, philanthropist and host of The David Rubenstein Show on WITF.

Enjoy United in Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America Thursday December 31 at 8:00pm, with a repeat at 9:30pm on WITF.

A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.

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