Public Television Stations to Celebrate Fourth of July in High Definition PBS Hosts A Capitol Fourth – A Celebration of Independence Day in Washington, D.C. with Spectacular Fireworks over the Washington Monument
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning film, theater and television actor Jimmy Smits hosts the 28th annual broadcast of , America’s biggest and best-loved 4th of July concert on PBS, featuring unrivaled musical performances from some of the country’s best known and award-winning artists, as well as a spectacular fireworks display on the National Mall over the Washington Monument.
Grammy winners Huey Lewis and the News, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, rock 'n' roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis, Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, classical superstar Hayley Westenra and soprano Harolyn Blackwell will perform a selection of patriotic and celebratory music with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Erich Kunzel.
The event will also feature a special salute to our Olympic athletes with figure skater and Gold medal winner Scott Hamilton.
The July 4th concert finale includes Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" – an audience favorite and now tradition – featuring the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets and complete with live cannon fire provided by the United States Army Presidential Salute Battery. The Choral Arts Society of Washington, under the direction of Norman Scribner, returns to the show. The Joint Armed Forces Color Guard of the Military District of Washington will also be featured on this as well as the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps.
can also be heard live in stereo over NPR Member stations nationwide and is broadcast to U.S. military personnel in more than 140 countries and aboard more than 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea by the American Forces Radio and Television Network.
New York Kicks Off “Public Television Rocks” Campaign 
New York Public Television stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21, in conjunction with the music group The Police, launched the “Public Television Rocks” campaign. The inaugural event of Public Television Rocks will center on the much anticipated final concert of The Police’s fourteen month record-breaking tour that will take place on Thursday, August 7, 2008, at Madison Square Garden. In a groundbreaking partnership, tickets to the concert, which will feature the B-52’s as special guests, will only be available through a pledge to Thirteen/WNET and/or WLIW21.
“We are honored to partner with Public Television and have a deep respect for their commitment to arts and culture,” members of The Police said at a press conference recently.
The concert is expected to be the largest single fundraising event in the history of Public Television. “This historic concert event will benefit Thirteen and WLIW21 in general but, more specifically, enhance the arts and culture programming that these two stations provide to New York and America,” says Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, the licensee of Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York. “This is an exciting kick-off to the ‘Public Television Rocks’ campaign, which will help Public Television engage with a new generation of audience and hopefully become a new model for future fundraising.”
“Public Television Rocks” will combine similar musical events and programming in the future to expand Public Television’s appeal to a wider audience. The campaign will be available to Public Television stations nationwide for their own fundraising efforts.
For more information on “Public Television Rocks” visit www.publictelevisionrocks.org.
