Renowned St. Olaf Christmas Festival Celebrates 100th Year Live in Movie Theaters

Presented by NCM Fathom and BY Experience, Live Event Rings in the Holiday Season in Select Theaters Nationwide on Sunday, December 4

Centennial, Colo. – November 3, 2011 – One of America’s longest running musical celebrations of the holiday season, the St. Olaf Christmas Festival will present Rejoice, Give Thanks, and Sing – 100th St. Olaf Christmas Festival Live, a one-day only, in-theater concert event on Sunday, December 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. MT / 12:30 p.m. PT. Broadcast live from Skoglund Center Auditorium on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., audiences will experience the celebrated two-hour program of hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections performed by more than 500 student musicians who make up five choirs, including the venerable St. Olaf Choir and the St. Olaf Orchestra. Before the live performance, the event will begin with a special half-hour retrospective focusing on the 100-year history of the Christmas Festival at the distinguished college featuring faculty and students reminiscing about the impact of the annual festival.

Presented by NCM Fathom and BY Experience, tickets for Rejoice, Give Thanks, and Sing – 100th St. Olaf Christmas Festival Live are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Participating choirs include the St. Olaf Choir, conducted by Anton Armstrong (St. Olaf College class of 1978); the Viking Chorus and Chapel Choir conducted by Christopher Aspaas (1995); the Cantorei, conducted by John Ferguson; and Manitou Singers, conducted by Sigrid Johnson. The St. Olaf Orchestra is conducted by Steven Amundson. Each group will perform individually, as well as part of a mass ensemble 

“Following our initial venture in 2007, we are thrilled to be able to simulcast live in movie theaters across the country the Sunday afternoon performance on Sunday, Dec. 4,” says Anton Armstrong, the Festival’s artistic director. “Together with our own recordings and DVDs of the Christmas Festival, the St. Olaf community is able to share this very special gift of Christmas with people around the nation. As we mark the 100th St. Olaf Christmas Festival, the Artistic Committee (comprised of the five conductors, visual set designer, and college pastor emeritus) strove to develop a theme that would convey a sense of celebration and thanksgiving for this incredible annual event.”

Rejoice, Give Thanks, and Sing – 100th St. Olaf Christmas Festival Live will be broadcast exclusively to nearly 500 theaters nationwide through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. Fathom and BY Experience also teamed up for the highly successful cinema presentation of the 96th annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Where Peace and Love and Hope Abide in December 2007.

“The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a century-old holiday tradition that is eagerly anticipated by young and old around the world,” said Dan Diamond, senior vice president of NCM Fathom. “This live, in-theater musical celebration will kick off the holiday season in communities nationwide, all in the comfort of the local cinema.”

The St Olaf Christmas Festival was started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, the founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department. First broadcast via radio in 1949 and televised in 1975, the Festival today is internationally renowned.  More than 12,000 students, alumni and friends of the college attend the four sold-out performances presented each December.

About National CineMedia (NCM)

NCM operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology.  The NCM Cinema Network and NCM Fathom present cinema advertising and events across the nation’s largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM’s theater advertising network covers 175 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50) and includes over 18,100 screens (16,800 digital). During 2010, over 690 million patrons attended movies shown in theaters in which NCM currently has exclusive, cinema advertising agreements in place.  The NCM Fathom Events broadcast network is comprised of nearly 700 locations in 165 Designated Market Areas® (all of the top 50). The NCM Interactive Network offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing 42 entertainment-related websites, online widgets and mobile applications.  National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 48.7% interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.nationalcinemedia.com or www.ncm.com.

About BY Experience

BY Experience kicked off the digital revolution of live events to movie theaters and other locations globally with David Bowie’s 2003 Reality album launch and since then, over 12 million tickets have been sold worldwide for cinema events BY Experience has distributed and/or produced including the Met: Live in HD series, the U.K.’s National Theatre Live series, the New York Times speaker’s series TimesTalks LIVE, the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest (June 2011), Red Hot Chili Peppers Live: I’m With You (August 2011); The Big Four: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax (June 2010), BBC Electric Proms: Robbie Williams (October 2009), the classic music celebrations BBC Last Night of the Proms(September 2009 and September 2010), St. Olaf Christmas Festival: Where Peace Love and Hope Abide (December 2007),David Gilmour: Remember That Night — Live from the Royal Albert Hall (September 2007), and the public radio shows A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor (February and October 2010) and This American Life – Live! with Ira Glass (April 2008 and May 2009).  BY Experience distributes to nearly 50 countries, to 1,500 movie screens.  For more information, visit:www.byexperience.net

About St. Olaf College

Recognized as one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf offers an academically rigorous education with a vibrant faith tradition as a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For more information, visit www.stolaf.edu.