‘UK at the Half’: ‘Collage’ kicks off holiday season with something for everyone
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 4, 2024) — “Collage: A Holiday Spectacular,” will take place Dec. 7-8 at Singletary Center for the Arts, and on this edition of “UK at the Half,” Jefferson Johnson, D.M.A., director of choral activities and professor of music at UK, says this program is a great way to kick off the holiday season.
“After 27 years, this event is still growing, which is amazing to me,” Johnson said. “People tell us every year that, ‘Oh, this year I brought my whole family,’ and then the next year they'll come back and they'll say, ‘Well, this year I brought my whole extended family,’ and then the next year they come back and say, ‘Well, we brought our extended family and my neighbors extended family as well.’ And so it's just the word of mouth that just keeps spreading about ‘Collage’ and it's just getting bigger and bigger.”
About 350 musicians come together to make the program happen, and for a show with a lot of moving parts, work has to start while most people are gearing up for Halloween.
“It’s a little funny to start singing Christmas carols in October,” Johnson said, “but that's what we have to do because our arrangements are sometimes challenging and intricate.”
Learn more about "Collage" and other holiday programming taking place this December here.
“UK at the Half” airs during halftime of each UK football and basketball game broadcast on the radio and is hosted by UK Public Relations and Strategic Communications and UK Marketing and Brand Strategy. To hear the “UK at the Half” interview, click the play button above.
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