’Tis the Night with Ben Folds & Friends Ushers in the Holiday Season

Holiday Special Features the Handel and Haydn Society,
Dancer Caleb Teicher, Boston Children’s Chorus, Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum
and Musicians from the New England Conservatory

Premieres on WGBH 2 on Thursday, December 13 at 8pm

BOSTON (November 27, 2018) – Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ben Folds will host the 2018 WGBH Holiday Special ‘Tis the Night with Ben Folds & Friends, premiering Thursday, December 13, 2018 at 8:00pm on WGBH 2. ‘Tis the Night with Ben Folds & Friends reimagines holiday favorites, from classical to jazz and popular music.

“Our original program, ‘Tis the Night, builds on traditional holiday performances, pairing nationally-known acts with some of the most outstanding musicians in New England, in unexpected ways that deliver stunning results,” said Music Director Anthony Rudel, who is also Station Manager at 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio Boston.

Eclectic and genre-bending, the program features Folds playing the piano for “Silent Night” with Handel and Haydn’s celebrated Concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky and then performing a drum and tap duet of “Little Drummer Boy” with dancer extraordinare Caleb Teicher and a trio of musicians from the New England Conservatory (NEC). NEC vocalists perform both a jazzy version of “Jingle Bells” and a more traditional performance of Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”. The program also features selections from George Frideric Handel’s seasonal touchstone Messiah, by the Handel and Haydn Society, which has performed the work annually to international acclaim for the past 164 years.

"I'm honored to host ‘Tis the Night, and to support public television programs like it which play such an important role in offering content that both inspires and entertains," said Folds. "This broadcast, a throwback to past holiday shows that would showcase a variety of musical acts, also gives me the opportunity to work alongside some incredibly gifted performers from the Boston area and beyond.”

A holiday show wouldn’t be complete without some of the most-loved carols of the season. The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum performs “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”, “Deck the Halls” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, while the Boston Children’s Chorus, under the direction of Anthony Trecek-King, lends their angelic voices to several carols, including a finale of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” with Folds and Teicher.

“We thank Ben and our brilliant artists for creating new ways to celebrate the holidays in New England,” said Co-executive Producer and WGBH/WORLD Channel General Manager of Television Liz Cheng. “Music lovers will find much to delight them throughout the hour.”

‘Tis the Night with Ben Folds & Friends will premiere simultaneously on WGBH 2 in Boston, WGBY in Springfield, MA and on New Hampshire PBS. The program will be rebroadcast throughout the month of December.

“An original production, ‘Tis the Night was created and produced at WGBH,” added Co-Executive ProducerPatricia Alvarado Núñez.“Because WGBH and public media is available across the Commonwealth, we can premiere the show simultaneously in three markets, sharing this unique local content and holiday joy with audiences across much of New England.”

A full list of broadcast dates is below. Photos of the program may be downloaded here.

‘Tis the Night with Ben Folds & Friends Broadcast Dates

About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Arthur and more than a dozen other primetime, lifestyle and children’s series. WGBH’s television channels include WGBH 2, WGBX 44, and the digital channels World and Create. WGBH TV productions focusing on the region’s diverse community include Greater Boston, Basic Black and High School Quiz Show. WGBH Radio serves listeners across New England with 89.7 WGBH, Boston’s Local NPR®; 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio Boston; and WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® Station. WGBH also is a major source of programs for public radio (among them, PRI’s The World®), a leader in educational multimedia (including PBS LearningMedia™, providing the nation’s educators with free, curriculum-based digital content), and a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired audiences. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. Find more information at wgbh.org.