Plot Synopsis

CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT is an annual Belmont University tradition celebrating the holiday season along with the musical diversity and rich talent of the university's School of Music. The concert features a collage of familiar carols, classical masterworks, world music and light-hearted seasonal favorites. More than 400 student voices join with School of Music faculty to present the annual holiday production. Every other year -- in odd-numbered years -- PBS premieres a new CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT special, featuring a different celebrity or musician as host, who is frequently a Belmont alumnus like Josh Turner, Melinda Doolittle and Trisha Yearwood. In even-numbered years, PBS broadcasts an encore presentation of the previous year's event.

On Monday, December 21, 2015 at 10pm (check local listings), PBS premiered CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT 2015, featuring Grammy-winning host Kathy Mattea and nearly 700 student musicians, Belmont School of Music faculty and Nashville Children's Choir in a production of traditional carols, classical masterworks, world music and light-hearted seasonal favorites. CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT 2015, the 125th anniversary edition of the event, was taped at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center, marking the 13th consecutive year CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT has been seen on PBS.

On Friday, December 22, 2017 at 9pm (check local listings), PBS premiered CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT 2017, hosted by Sheryl Crow. This one-hour holiday special was recorded at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center and features nearly 700 musicians and performers, including Belmont University students, Belmont School of Music faculty and the Nashville Children's Choir. This year's edition of CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT features Belmont Chorale, University Orchestra, Musical Theatre Ensemble, Jazzmin, Bluegrass Ensemble and Jazz Band 1. The music crosses a number of genres with songs such as "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Run, Run Rudolf," "What Child is This?" "Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker and the beautiful "There Is a Star," performed by Crow.

PBS premiered CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT 2019 on Monday, December 23, 2019 at 9pm (check local listings), with hosts and guest artists Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans. Recorded in Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center, this year's event featured the University Symphony Orchestra, Belmont Chorale, Percussion Ensemble, Musical Theatre, Jazz Ensemble and Bluegrass Ensemble, as well as mass choir. The performance includes both classic holiday music such as "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," as well as festive seasonal songs like "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "White Christmas." Smith performs his song "The Promise" and Winans sings a beautiful rendition of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Later, the hosts perform a duet of Smith's "Christmas Day" featuring the Nashville Children's Choir. The performance and taping of CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT returns for the sixth and final time to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, one of the few venues in the world featuring natural lighting and state-of-the-art acoustics, including motorized acoustic drapes and an acoustical isolation joint that encircles the entire concert hall and prevents sound waves traveling into or out of the hall. Starting in 2021, CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT will be taped in Belmont's new world-class Performing Arts Center.
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CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT 2021 debuted on Monday, December 20, 2021 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings). Recorded in the new 1,700-seat Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Belmont's campus, this year's event features nearly 650 Belmont University students performing holiday favorites, traditional carols and festive tunes. This year's show opens with nighttime aerial views of the Nashville skyline and then moves to shots of Belmont's new venue.

The 2021 installment includes 15 student musical groups, among them the Belmont Symphony Orchestra, Belmont Chorale (traditional choir) and Jazzmin (vocal jazz ensemble) performing a variety of genres. The students will be joined by faculty members from Belmont's School of Music. The concert begins with a stage full of students performing an arrangement of "Carol of the Bells" that includes a bit of a medley of holiday tunes. Standout performances in a night of beautiful music include a bluegrass rendition of "It's Christmastime Again," a Gospel rendering of "Go Tell It on the Mountain/Glory to God" and a version of "Navidad!" by the Percussion Ensemble that's full of verve and syncopation -- and a couple of musical surprises. Choral pieces, orchestral music and show tunes round out the performance. CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT 2021 was recorded in early December 2021 with an invitation-only audience in attendance and COVID-19 protocols in place.