Christmas Spectacular Attracting Thousands, Highlights to be Televised

The 10th annual University of Mobile “Christmas Spectacular” will be presented at Dauphin Way Baptist Church on Dauphin Street in Mobile on Friday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 2 at 6:45 p.m. A dress rehearsal open to the public is also scheduled for Thursday, Nov 29 at 6:45 p.m.

Persons with tickets will be seated first beginning at 6 p.m. Audiences may still attend the performances without a ticket as long as room is available. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for those without tickets. Tickets are free, and most were distributed within days of being released in October, making the annual UMobile Christmas Spectacular one of the hottest annual ticketed events in town.

The annual event is a celebration of Christmas that includes more than 300 students and faculty from the UMobile Center for Performing Arts/School of Music and School of Worship Leadership. Presentations of traditional and contemporary sacred and secular Christmas music will be the focus of the program.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary, this year’s Christmas Spectacular will also include alumni, several guests and surprises.

“Response for this event has been amazing and, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we wanted to do something truly spectacular,” said Executive Dean Dr. Roger Breland.

Dr. Al Miller, dean of the CPA/School of Music and School of Worship Leadership, added, “It is our desire to share this year’s Spectacular with local and national audiences through high definition television video production.”

Renowned Nashville director Steven Yakes will film Christmas Spectacular 2012 for a television special that will air later in the month on several national satellite stations and local stations. Air dates on WALA FOX10 are Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., and on the local Trinity Broadcast Network, and on satellite stations Cornerstone TeleVision and The Walk TV (formerly Legacy TV).

In addition, performances from the 2011 Christmas Spectacular will be featured on WALA Fox10’s “Sounds of the Season,” which includes area choral groups performing Christmas music. “Sounds of the Season” will air on WALA Fox10 at 5 p.m. Dec. 2, 16 and 25, and at 8 a.m. on Dec. 25. It will air on sister station WFNA CW55 at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 1 and 15, 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 8, and 11 a.m. on Dec. 25.

For information about Christmas Spectacular or the Center for Performing Arts/School of Music, call the University of Mobile at 251-442-2420 or visit the website at www.umobile.edu. For more information about the University of Mobile, academic programs and admission, call Enrollment Services at 1-800-WIN-RAMS or 251-442-2222.

The University of Mobile is a Christian university located in Mobile, Ala., on an 880-acre campus near Gulf Coast beaches. Approximately 1,800 students are enrolled in more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Christian Leadership, School of Business, School of Christian Ministries, School of Education, School of Nursing, School of Worship Leadership, Center for Performing Arts/School of Music and Center for Adult Programs.