The television production of the 2008 Hope College Christmas Vespers service has received recognition through three different awards programs.
The program was produced by WGVU-TV in Grand Rapids in cooperation with the department of music at Hope. The program was produced and edited by WGVU producer/director Deb Kirk. Dr. Brad Richmond, professor of music and director of choral activities at Hope, was director of the 2008 Vespers.
The program received a Second Place Silver Screen Award in the Arts: Music category from the U.S. International Film & Video Festival's 42nd Annual Awards Competition; an Award of Distinction in the Arts category in the Videographer Awards competition; and a Bronze Award in the 30th annual Telly Awards competition.
Christmas Vespers has been held at HopeCollege since 1941. The program of Christmas carols and anthems is presented by the college's department of music and features more than 200 students in historic Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The service was first broadcast on WGVU in 1994 and is now televised on a semi-annual basis. The 2006 production won an Award of Excellence in the 2007 Videographer Awards; a Silver Award in the 2007 Millennium Awards; and a Best Arts-Local Release Award in the 2007 Gabriel Awards. The 2004 production won a 2005 Michigan Emmy Award for Multiple Camera Field Directing, and Honorable Mention in the 2005 Videographer Awards.
The 2008 services were held on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7. The WGVU production was made available to PBS affiliates nationwide for presentation during the holiday season
This year's International Film and Video Festival Annual Awards Competition received more than 1,100 entries from around the world. There were nearly 1,800 entries from throughout the U.S. and around the world in this year's Videographer Awards competition. Last year's Telly Awards competition had received more than 14,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents.