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Commemorate the holidays with this program of seasonal songs and familiar melodies from the annual Washburn University Holiday Vespers celebration on Sunday, December 16th at 7 p.m. on KTWU-DH, Digital Channel 11.1. Recorded live at White Concert Hall on the Washburn University campus. Hear the Washburn Choir, the Washburn Singers, the Washburn Combined Women’s Choir, the Washburn Percussion Ensemble and the Washburn Orchestra in a concert of holiday favorites including Carol of the Drum, Let It Snow!, and Star of Wonder. KTWU was honored with the EMMY for its presentation of last year’s concert.

“The Ed Sullivan Show” brought the greatest musical acts in the world into America’s living rooms every Sunday night. On Friday, August 17, at 8 p.m. on KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1, a new special features many of these musicians. On the program both the Beatles and the Doors will be shown in classic performances. Also appearing are memorable performances from others including the Mamas & the Papas, the Rolling Stones, Johnny Rivers, the Beach Boys, Tom Jones and Creedence Clearwater Revival (pictured).

The popular new SHERLOCK series from PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! makes a special encore of all three of the second series stores on KTWU. Tune in to KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1, for these popular episodes: “Scandal in Belgarvia” on Monday, August 6, 8 p.m.; “Hounds of Baskerville” on Tuesday, August 7, 8 p.m.; and “Reichenbach Fall” on Wednesday, August 8, 8 p.m.

The new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts provides the stunning backdrop for a performance-documentary that profiles the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Symphony, their vibrant artistic director and conductor Michael Stern, and the radiant, celebrated mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato (pictured). Airing on KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1 on Friday, July 20, at 8 p.m., this special tracks DiDonato’s nostalgic return to her hometown — and her thrilling Kauffman Center debut.

KTWU presents an encore showing of DOWNTON ABBEY, Season One. The MASTERPIECE series has proven to be one of the most watched programs ever shown on KTWU/PBS. Beginning Tuesdays on June 12 at 7 p.m. viewers can catch up with the first season that started all the storylines. On KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1.

The ultimate love story continues in LOVE NEVER DIES, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spellbinding follow-up musical to the phenomenal Phantom of the Opera. Premiering on Friday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. on KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1, the musical features the highly acclaimed new Australian production filmed in Melbourne. This dazzling production takes audiences on a thrilling rollercoaster ride of intrigue, obsession and romance. Ben Lewis as the Phantom and Anna O’Byrne as Christine star.

STRAIGHT NO CHASER — SONGS OF THE DECADES, airing on Sunday, June 3, at 8:30 p.m. on KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1, is a journey through the decades of the pop songbook, including Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” the Four Seasons’ “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road,” all done with SNC’s trademark harmonies and unique charm. The concert was filmed live at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City.

On Sunday, May 27 at 7 p.m. on KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1, join co-hosts Gary Sinise (“CSI: New York”) and Joe Mantegna (“Criminal Minds”) in a night of remembrance featuring an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra for the 2012 NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT.

The 23rd annual broadcast of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT airs live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, and to our troops around the world on the American Forces Network. The all-star line-up includes distinguished American leader Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.); the multi-platinum rock band Daughtry; nine-time Grammy award-winner, singer and songwriter Natalie Cole; country music superstar Trace Adkins; acclaimed film and television actress Selma Blair; Emmy, Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn; Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and Vietnam veteran Dennis Franz; and renowned tenor Russell Watson in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly.

Consistently one of the highest rated programs on PBS over the past decade, last year’s NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT telecast reached more than eight million viewers.

Featured stories in the 2012 NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will include:
• A heartfelt welcome home to our troops who have been serving in Iraq and Afghanistan;
• The poignant story of a young widow who lost her husband in Afghanistan;
• A segment profiling the heroic and brave efforts of veterans from all wars; and
• A closer look at the plight of homeless American veterans.

“Each year on the eve of Memorial Day, we gather at the U.S. Capitol to share the real stories of fallen and wounded heroes, their families and their combat buddies as a way to remember, to grieve and begin to heal,” said concert co-host Joe Mantegna. “Every one of your stories of remembrance is important to us. We are honored to be able to share these moving tributes from our loyal viewers as we remember the sacrifices made by so many to preserve our freedoms.”

The U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff will also participate in the event, along with The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, The U.S. Army Chorus, The Soldiers Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band, The U.S. Navy Sea Chanters, the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants, the Armed Forces Color Guard and Service Color Teams provided by the Military District of Washington, DC.

The struggle goes on in 21st century London as the updated team of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson battle the worst that modern criminality has to offer, including a computer-savvy arch-villain who wants to rule the world. MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! presents Sherlock, Series 2, airing in three thrilling episodes on Sundays, May 6, 13, and 20, 2012, 8pm on KTWU-HD (PBS), Digital Channel 11.1.

Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) returns as the world’s foremost consulting detective, with Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office UK) as the stalwart, if edgy, Dr. John Watson, and Andrew Scott (Lennon Naked) as the unassuming mastermind of evil, Jim Moriarty.

Guest stars for the new season include Lara Pulver (True Blood) as Irene Adler, the only woman who ever kindled the embers of passion in Holmes; and Russell Tovey (Little Dorrit) as the character who speaks the immortal line, “Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” Except the hound he means is not just big…

Critics were astounded by Sherlock, Series 1, calling it “wonderfully weird” (Wall Street Journal), “unabashedly entertaining” (USA Today), “absorbedly witty and brisk” (Washington Post), “tremendously clever” (Entertainment Weekly), and just plain “delightful” (TV Guide). Benedict Cumberbatch was judged “a Sherlock for the 21st century” (San Francisco Chronicle), and Martin Freeman was called “masterfully deadpan…far more than a mere foil to Holmes” (Zap2it).

The returning cast includes Rupert Graves (The Forsyte Saga, God on Trial) as Inspector Lestrade, the man nominally in charge of crime solving in London; Mark Gatiss (Sense & Sensibility) as Sherlock’s cloak-and-dagger older brother, Mycroft; and Una Stubbs (Till Death Us Do Part) as Sherlock’s infinitely patient landlady, Mrs. Hudson.

Each of the three episodes in the new season is pegged to a classic Sherlock Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle—delightfully, weirdly, wittily, and briskly updated, of course:

A Scandal in Belgravia—Sunday, May 6, 2012 / Picking up from last season’s gripping conclusion, Sherlock and Watson are plunged into a case of blackmail involving crafty dominatrix Irene Adler, whose motto is “know when you are beaten.” It seems she has incriminating photos of a session with a British royal. Can she outsmart Sherlock at his own game—and at a battle he is ill prepared to wage: love?

The Hounds of Baskerville—Sunday, May 13, 2012 / Sherlock and Watson pursue the trail of the Baskerville experiments—top-secret government research on genetically engineered gigantic animals for military use. Or so it is rumored. Whatever the truth, something big is up on the moors.

The Reichenbach Fall— Sunday, May 20, 2012 / In what may be the climatic case of his career, Sherlock faces Moriarty’s diabolical plot to “get Sherlock,” which begins innocently enough when the criminal mastermind breaks into the Crown Jewels. As the scheme unfolds, Moriarty poses the “final problem,” and a tabloid reporter reveals the “shocking truth” about the great detective.

MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! is underwritten on KTWU by The Raven Bookstore, Topeka Presbyterian Manor, Drapery World and Blinds, Midland Care and Central Congregational Church.