CAMPBELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE STUDENT
MATT HODGE TO BE ON WHAS TV DEC. 22 DISCUSSING
HIS ‘WHAT IS CHRISTMAS' SONG

By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Matt Hodge, a Campbellsville University graduate student in music, will be showcasing his song, “What is Christmas?” Tuesday, Dec. 22 on WHAS-TV, Channel 11, at noon.

Hodge will discuss the song and the reason for dedicating it to the troops along with Dr. Frieda Gebert, associate professor of music at CU, whose idea the song was.

Hodge said he and Gebert are “really excited” about appearing on Rachel Platt's broadcast to discuss their carol for the troops.

Hodge said the CU Chamber Choir traveled to Nashville to record the song in Buzz Cason's studio last week. Cason is a member of the CU Board of Trustees.

 

“I have received tons of e-mails and hits on my Web site about the song,” he said. He said the song can be downloaded from his Web site at www.matthodge.com for free but donations are accepted to cover administrative costs.

Hodge said he wrote a Christmas carol for the troops to allow them and their families to feel closer together during the holiday season. He wrote the song in one night.

The carol titled “What is Christmas?” came out of a brainstorming session between Hodge and Gebert.

Gebert said she remembered her parents telling her about being apart at Christmas during World War II while her father was fighting in the war, and they would listen to “I'll Be Home for Christmas,” which they called “their song,” to think of each other while they were apart.

“When I heard President Obama say that 30,000 more troops would be heading for Afghanistan, my heart went out to their families.

“When he said that many of those would be leaving home before Christmas, I thought of my parents and the years they spent apart during WW II. I wanted to find a way for those back home to say, ‘Christmas will be here when you get back,'” Gebert said.

She then called Hodge and asked what he could do to help. “He came through in a big way!” she said.

Hodge's carol was performed during CU's annual “Christmas Tapestry” by the Chamber Choir.

“Dr. Gebert and I are so happy that we could bring a song to the public that could touch people in their own personal experiences,” Hodge said.

WHAS-TV is Comcast Cable Channel 11 in Campbellsville, Ky.

Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 3,006 students who represent 97 Kentucky counties, 30 states and 37 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2010 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South, tied for fifth in “most international students” and fourth in “up-and-coming” schools in baccalaureate colleges in the South. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges® and to G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.