The Choir of King’s College presents “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” on December 24th from 10 am to noon. Photo: APM
We wish you happy holidays, a joyful new year, and great listening. Here’s what’s coming up for special holiday programs on NCPR:
Sunday 12/18
8 – 9pm: Candles Burning Brightly
Candles Burning Brightly is a celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights with an exploration of Chanukah foods and traditional activities … and plenty of music.
Monday 12/19
3 – 5pm: The Dean’s List Holiday Special
8 – 9pm: Hanukkah Lights
A perennial NPR favorite, Hanukkah Lights features Hanukkah stories read by hosts Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.
8 – 9pm: NPR’s Joy to the World – A Holiday in Pink
The internationally acclaimed “little orchestra” Pink Martini bedecks the airwaves with festive holiday songs from across the globe. From timeless classics to rarely heard gems, hear a multi-denominational, multi-cultural jubilee, overflowing with enough holiday spirit to warm your entire family. Hosted by All Things Considered’s Ari Shapiro.
Tuesday 12/20
3 – 5pm: Trail Mix Holiday Special
8 – 9pm: The 10th Mountain Division Band Holiday Special
We’re proud to bring you a holiday special from the 10th Mountain Division Band, based at Ft. Drum, NY, recorded in Watertown and Clayton earlier this month.
9 – 10pm: Festivo AltLatino with Cantigas
NPR Music’s Alt.Latino presents the 2014 edition of Festivo Alt.Latino — a special holiday concert featuring the 20 piece choral ensemble Choral Cantigas and including stories about holiday traditions and cultures. Hear a traditional Peruvian Christmas carol, folk music from Brazil, Spain, and Mexico plus Parrandas from Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Hosted by Felix Contreras.
Wednesday 12/21
3 – 5pm: Radio Bob’s So-Called Holiday Special
8 – 9pm: Crane Candlelight Concert
A selection of holiday music from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music
9 – 10pm: Sound Opinions: The 2022 Holiday Spectacular with Andy Cirzan
Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot welcome their crate-digging Kris Kringle, Andy Cirzan to share great holiday songs that aren’t played-out. This year’s collection is called “The Reindeer Session… Further Adventures in Holiday Obscura.”
Thursday 12/22
3 – 5pm: String Fever Holiday Special
8 – 9pm: Itzhak Perlman’s Chanukah Radio Party
Join the superstar violinist as he tells the story of the Jewish festival of lights, and shares his favorite recordings for the holiday – some serious, some silly. The master storyteller also regales you with jokes and memories, plus tales of three classic Hanukkah symbols: the menorah, the latke, and, of course, the dreidel.
9 – 10pm: A Rochester Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols
A Rochester Festival of Lessons and Carols was recorded at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York under the direction of organist/choirmaster Peter DuBois.
Friday 12/23
12 – 1pm: NPR’s Tinsel Tales
A radio tradition continues – stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk—these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season.
2 – 3pm: Slavic Wonders: Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
A celebration of the season featuring some truly brilliant gems from the libraries and monasteries of Krakow, Prague, and Moscow.
3 – 4pm: A Chanticleer Christmas
Chanticleer presents a unique, one-hour program of holiday music live in concert. Hear why this superb 12-man ensemble is known as “an orchestra of voices,” as they perform holiday classics and new favorites, with choral commentary by host Brian Newhouse.
4 – 5pm: ¡Vamos a Belén! Christmas with The Rose Ensemble
Festive and evocative music from early Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, and beyond. Dances from the streets of Mother Spain mingle with African rhythms and indigenous languages, while celebration turns glorious in the pageantry of the Franciscan missions of California and New Mexico.
7 – 8pm: A Chanukah Celebration Across the Globe
A musical journey into the rich and varied melodic traditions of countries where Jews have lived and worshiped for centuries, including music from Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Central Asia …and Africa! You’ll hear performances from top New York ensembles East of the River, Shashmaqam, and the Marty Levitt Klezmer Orchestra – plus a recording of the astounding Jewish community of Putti Village, in Uganda.
8 – 9pm: Jazz Piano Christmas
Check out your favorite holiday classics as you’ve never heard them! This year, their annual sell-out event spotlights ferociously talented Japanese musical phenom Hiromi, Mountain Stage’s Bob Thompson, and Bolivian prodigy José André Montaño, chosen as one of the Kennedy Center’s “Next 50” leaders.
9 – 10pm: An Afro-Blue Christmas
A very special holiday concert with Howard University’s premiere vocal ensemble Afro Blue, and special guest pianist Cyrus Chestnut. The a capella group performs a variety of holiday songs including African-American spirituals, jazz and pop tunes, and classical repertoire. Hosted by Michele Norris.
Saturday 12/24
6 – 7am: Travel with Rick Steves
On this special holiday edition of Travel with Rick Steves, get into the international Christmas spirit with visits to German Christmas Markets; Christmas in Madrid, Sicily, Ireland, and the Hebrides.
10am – 12pm: A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols, live from Cambridge, England
Michael Barone presents this live service of spoken-word and music broadcast from the chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, England. The 30-voice King’s College Choir performs the legendary Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service of Biblical readings and music.
12 – 1pm: A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico
Celebrate Christmas with the sound of soaring voices. Stile Antico, the award-winning choir from London, presents a concert of radiant sacred music for the Christmas season by the most acclaimed composers of the renaissance, including Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
1 – 3:05pm: The Metropolitan Opera – The Magic Flute
The Met presents Mozart’s fantastical opera full of sorcerers, heroes, magical instruments, wild animals, and special effects, plus gorgeous arias too.
3:06 – 4pm: Classical 24 holiday music
4 – 5pm: A Christmas Carol with Jonathan Winters
A public radio tradition hosted by NPR’s Susan Stamberg. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens’ holiday classic, with a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations.
6 – 8pm: World Café Holiday Show
8 – 9pm: Jazz Night In America: A Holiday Celebration
This year’s Jazz Night in America holiday special will feature drummer Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O; a ruckus band recorded at Jazz at Lincoln Center that flip seasonal songs on their head while inserting humor and joyful swing. and new takes on classics in this special episode.
9 – 10pm: The Thread Holiday Special with Taylor Haskins
10p – 8am: C24 holiday music
Sunday, 12/25
10am – 4pm C24 holiday music
4 – 5pm: Chanukah In Story and Song: The Western Wind with Leonard Nimoy
The narration written by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik sheds light on the holiday customs and rituals. The acclaimed vocal sextet and the renowned actor present 25 eclectic selections, from the Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews and Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe to modern Israeli tunes and their original version of “I Have a Little Dreydle.”
6 – 7pm: A Mountain Stage Holiday
This hour-long special features seasonal songs, old and new, all recorded live over the years on the Mountain Stage. We’ll hear performances from Joan Baez, Bruce Cockburn, Odetta, Loudon Wainwright III, Holly Cole, The Roches, Kathy Mattea, Michael Martin Murphey and more.
7 – 8pm: All Songs Considered for the Holiday Extravaganza
Bob Boilen is like a child this time of year, his eyes and ears full of wonder, as he traipses through the NPR Music offices, vigorously jingling his collection of sleigh bells. He believes, in his heart, that he’s truly getting everyone in the spirit of the holiday season. But it’s always a steady source of irritation for Robin so he tries to escape but ends up on a steam engine headed to the North Pole.
8 – 9pm: Thistle & Shamrock: A Child’s Christmas in Wales
Cerys Matthews is a Welsh musician and patron of the Dylan Thomas Society. In this program she narrates excerpts from the Dylan Thomas holiday classic, set to music that she created and recorded with her collaborator Mason Neely.
9 – 10pm: The Thistle & Shamrock Celtic Christmas
Enjoy the rich acoustic instruments and voices of the festive season, with tales of tradition, rhymes of remembrance, and the unique flavors of a Celtic Christmas with host Fiona Ritchie.
Monday 12/26
8 – 9am: A Season’s Griot: A Kwanzaa celebration in story and song
Hosted by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, A Season’s Griot is an annual one-hour special that captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples. The show’s poet laureate, Beverly Fields Burnette, and other members of the Season’s Griot family return with familiar and favorite elements of Griot.
Saturday 12/31
8pm – 1am: Radio Bob’s New Year’s Eve Show, live from an undisclosed location!
Sunday 1/1/23
1 – 2am: The Beat Authority Welcomes 2023
2 – 6am: The Dean’s List welcomes 2023
11am – 1pm: New Year’s Day in Vienna 2023 – Live
The Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of Franz Welser-Most, will perform the ever-popular annual New Year’s Day Concert. As the musical ambassadors of Austria, the Philharmonic provides musically definitive interpretations of the masterworks of this genre, and sends people all over the world a New Year’s greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace.
8 – 9pm: The Folk Show with Mike Alzo
Join longtime NCPR folk host Mike Alzo as he welcomes in the New Year.