ETV Takes Viewers on a Musical Journey

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ETV Takes Viewers on a Musical Journey

For Immediate Release
March 3, 2009

ETV’s Festival, March 7-22, brings viewers a wide variety of musical performances, with something for every taste.

The hits just keep coming in Great Performances “The Police: Certifiable,” the rocking concert film of the Police’s historic reunion tour stop in Buenos Aires. Airing March 7 and March 10 at 8:00 p.m., the special captures Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland and Sting — better known as the Police — performing to the record crowd that packed River Plate Stadium to hear such band favorites as “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take.”

Despite the band’s rocketing to stardom in the early 1980s with five smash albums and five Grammy Awards, they parted ways in 1984, with front-man Sting embarking on a successful solo career.

Happily for the band’s fans, however, they rejoined in 2007 for one last time for the now-classic reunion tour which culminated at Madison Square Garden last August. Their massive catalog of hits — including “Walking on the Moon,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “King of Pain” — sound as fresh as ever.

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On Wednesday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m., ETV airs Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey, featuring the essential collection of Celtic Woman’s most beloved and memorable songs. The special pieces together memorable highlights from other PBS specials, and intertwines the songs with stunning scenic and landscape images of Ireland. It gives viewers front-row seats to this world-class performance that sparks a little bit of Irish spirit just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

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Concert spectacular, Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum recording artist Yanni makes a triumphant return to the stage and, for the first time, features show-stopping vocal performances by young artists who bring to life his most popular musical compositions.

On March 9 and March 14 at 7:00 p.m., ETV takes a look at Yanni’s phenomenal talents in Yanni Voices: Live from the Forum in Acapulco. Yanni’s unique ability to engage his audience with his masterful productions creates an enchanting and riveting experience that features beautiful music, spectacular choreography, dazzling costumes and dynamic set design. Featured are the “Voices” themselves — Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas and Leslie Mills — four exceptional vocalists who, under Yanni’s direction, perform both original and classic Yanni compositions accompanied by Yanni’s acclaimed orchestra, comprised of musicians from across the globe.

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In an event that pulls some of the biggest superstars in the music industry together, ETV presents Chris Botti in Boston Thursday, March 12 at 9:00 p.m. and Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m., featuring the acclaimed trumpeter performing with a once-in-a-lifetime line-up of artists. Botti is live in the ETV studios for the March 16 broadcast.

Joining Botti are Sting, Josh Groban, John Mayer, Katharine McPhee, Yo-Yo Ma, and Steven Tyler, among others. These talented stars give masterful performances, and are backed the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart.

From the opening moments of the program, Botti and his guests keep the audience riveted. After Botti’s beautiful renderings of “Ave Maria” and “When I Fall in Love,” viewers are treated to violinist Lucia Micarelli accompanying Botti on a breathtaking version of “Emmanuel” followed by Sting’s performance of “Seven Days.” Other highlights include Josh Groban and Sting performing together on stage for the first time; John Mayer and Katharine McPhee performing Sinatra classics; and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler dedicating his performance of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” to his father, who is sitting in the audience.

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There are galas and then there’s The Metropolitan Opera Opening Night Gala Starring Renée Fleming, premiering on ETV March 15 at 1:30 p.m. on Great Performances at the Met. This once-in-a-lifetime occasion showcases the soprano in three of her favorite roles: Violetta in Act II of Verdi’s La Traviata, Manon in Act III of Massenet’s Manon, and the Countess in the final scene of Strauss’ Capriccio.

Adding special glamour are the Vogue-worthy costumes for the star created for each of the scenes by designers John Galliano, Christian Lacroix and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.

Met Music Director James Levine conducts Traviata, which has two scenes in Act II: the first at Violetta’s country house and the second at a grand Parisian mansion as elaborately staged by legendary director Franco Zeffirelli. Ramón Vargas sings the role of Alfredo Germont, and Thomas Hampson that of his father, Giorgio.

The Manon act is also in two parts: the first is the spectacular “Cours-la-Reine” scene featuring the heroine’s famous “Gavotte,” followed by the dramatic scene in the church of St. Sulpice. Ramón Vargas is Manon’s lover, the Chevalier des Grieux; Dwayne Croft her cousin, Lescaut, and Robert Lloyd the Chevalier’s father, the Comte des Grieux. Marco Armiliato conducts.

The musically transcendent finale of Capriccio, conducted by Patrick Summers, Music Director of the Houston Grand Opera, concludes the evening.

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.