WMHT to Premiere Original Documentary Echoes of Praise with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s GOSPEL

Troy, NY – WMHT Public Media, a multichannel public communications organization serving Eastern New York and Western New England, today announced it will hold a free, public screening for the premiere of its new documentary, Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region.

The WMHT documentary was produced to complement the Black History Month launch of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s four-hour PBS docuseries GOSPEL, and provides a window into local gospel music in NY’s Capital Region. It showcases several area congregations with deep connections to gospel music, including Sweet Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, Bethel Baptist Church in Troy, Friendship Baptist Church in Schenectady, and Metropolitan New Testament Mission Baptist Church in Albany.

While WMHT’s original documentary celebrates the tradition and legacy of gospel music locally, the national PBS 2-part docuseries presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. examines the origin of Black gospel music, which blended the sacred spirituals with the blues tradition and soared to new heights during the Great Migration. It will premiere on WMHT on February 12 and 13 at 9pm.

To celebrate the premiere of Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region, WMHT will hold a free, 30-minute public screening on Friday, February 9th at 6pm at The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio, 339 Central Ave in Albany. The event will also include preview clips of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s GOSPEL and companion concert Gospel LIVE! and will conclude with a live performance by The Heavenly Echoes Gospel Band. The event is free, but registration is required https://bit.ly/48UuQ3W

“We are proud to broadcast Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s latest PBS docuseries GOSPEL,” said Anthony V. Hayes, President and CEO of WMHT Public Media, “and even prouder still to showcase the contributions our capital region gospel groups have made to this vibrant musical genre. We truly celebrate them and invite our community to do so as well by attending our premiere and watching the broadcast of Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region.”

The celebration will encompass several offerings from both PBS and WMHT. Here is the full schedule:

Friday, February 9, 2024

• 6pm WMHT free, live event at The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio, 339 Central Ave in Albany
  • Premiere public screening: Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region
  • Preview clips: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s PBS Docuseries GOSPEL and Gospel LIVE! companion concert
  • Live gospel music performance by Heavenly Echoes
  • To register: https://bit.ly/48UuQ3W
• 9pm PBS broadcast on WMHT TV
  • Gospel Live! Presented by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
    • A musical celebration that honors the legacy and influence of Gospel music in America. Contemporary secular artists and renowned gospel singers perform their favorite gospel classics. The event co-hosted by Gates and Erica Campbell, and featuring John Legend, is a companion program to the four-hour PBS documentary series, GOSPEL.
• 10pm WMHT TV, premiere broadcast of Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region

Monday, February 12, 2024

• 9pm PBS television premiere of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s GOSPEL – Part 1 on WMHT TV
  • Hour 1: The Gospel Train follows the sonic influences of blues and jazz music.
  • Hour 2: The Golden Age of Gospel from the Lord’s music to the mainstream.
• 11pm WMHT TV Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region – rebroadcast.
  
  Tuesday, February 13, 2024
• 7:30pm WMHT TV Echoes of Praise: Gospel Music in NY’s Capital Region –rebroadcast.
• 9pm PBS television premiere of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s GOSPEL– Part 2 on WMHT TV
  • Hour 3: Take the Message Everywhere: gospel goes mainstream.
  • Hour 4: Gospel’s Second Century; how gospel and preaching achieved platinum-selling success.

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About WMHT Public Media

Serving Eastern New York and Western New England, WMHT Public Media is the only locally owned, nonprofit, multichannel public communications organization that reaches beyond the traditional broadcasting model to act as a leader by convening arts, culture, learning and civic interests. WMHT focuses on community, culture and connections by providing entertainment, enrichment and engagement through television, radio, digital media, and educational services. Services include WMHT-DT (17.1), WMHT-Create (17.2), WMHT-World (17.3), WMHT PBS Kids (17.4), WMHT-FM 89.1 & WRHV-FM 88.7 (classical public radio), and WEXT Radio 97.7/106.1 (AAA public radio). WMHT also operates RISE, a radio reading service for the blind and print disabled.