CUNY TV's ARTS IN THE CITY to Celebrate the Holidays, Begin. 12/12

CUNY TV's ARTS IN THE CITY, hosted by Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson from El Museo del Barrio in Manhattan, celebrates the holidays beginning Friday, Dec. 12 (2014) at 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm on CUNY TV*. The show is repeated Sunday 12/14 at noon and returns Friday 12/26 at 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm and on Sunday 12/28 at noon. On and after Dec. 12, the program may be viewed anytime on www.cuny.tv.

Stories in this episode include Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson's interview with Jorge Daniel Veneciano, the new Executive Director of El Museo del Barrio, about the first exhibition under his tenure - a retrospective on the career of pop artist Marisol (Escobar), who first burst onto the New York City art scene in the 1960s.

Barry Mitchell sits down with Lipa Schmeltzer, a Hasidic pop musician dubbed the "Jewish Elvis," who because of his Orthodoxy had never heard an American pop song until he was 20 years old. They talk about his Hanukkah video, Believe in A Miracle.

Carol Anne Riddell goes behind the scenes of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, attending rehearsals at the School of American Ballet where young students are trained to be part of the annual New York City Ballet presentation at Lincoln Center. And it's a holiday for strings as Tinabeth Pina learns how strings for musical instruments are made at the D'Addario family factory in Farmingdale, Long Island.

Rounding out the show is a profile of Handmade: Artists' Holiday Cards, a collection made by well-known 20th-century artists, at The Morgan Library & Museum, and Pat Collins' picks for what to see on Broadway this holiday season.

*CUNY TV is broadcast over-the-air in the tri-state area on Ch. 25.3, and cablecast in the five boroughs of New York City on Ch. 75 (Time Warner and Optimum), Ch. 77 (RCN) and Ch. 30 (Verizon FiOS).