Here's what's coming up for this Christmas Eve and Day on 89.5,
Christmas Eve- Friday, December 24th, 2021
9AM- Welcome Christmas
The perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups. An hour of traditional carols and new discoveries.
10 AM- A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Pipedreams host Michael Barone presents this live service of spoken-word and music (choral and organ) 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.
Noon- St. Olaf Christmas Festival
A service in song and word that has become one of the nation’s most cherished holiday celebrations. Tickets to the event - which takes place at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN - are always gone months in advance. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
2PM- A Chanticleer Christmas 2021
This unique, one-hour program of holiday music is presented live in concert by Chanticleer. 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 Steve Staruch.
3PM- Music of the Baroque: Brass and Choral Holiday Concert
The WFMT Radio Network and Music of the Baroque wants to wish you and yours a joyous holiday season as we offer the Brass and Choral Holiday Concert for your listening pleasure. Hosted by celebrated WFMT host Candice Agree, tune in to the great works of composers like Samuel Scheidt, Giovanni Gabrieli, William Billings, Claudio Monteverdi, and many more.
5PM- Gaudete! Early Music in the Christmas Season
Sara Schneider, producer and host of Early Music Now, presents Gaudete! Early Music for the Christmas Season, with joyful and contemplative sounds of the season. In this 1-hour holiday special, we’ll hear Byzantine chant by Kassiani, and selections from Missa Puer natus est nobis by Thomas Tallis, plus hymns and motets from Spain, Germany, and France.
6PM- A Rochester Festival of Nine Lessons ad Carols
One of the most beloved traditions of the holiday season is the Festival of Lessons and Carols, a service made famous at King’s College in Cambridge, England. The Festival tells the Christmas story in words and music, and is presented all over the world in many languages and variations.
Christmas Day- Saturday, December 25th, 2021
9AM- All is Bright
One hour of gorgeous, contemplative music related to the Christmas season and its symbolism. Hosted by Lynne Warfel
10AM- Hollywood Holiday
Lynne Warfel, host of Saturday Cinema, takes you on a one-hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood's most cherished Christmas-themed movies.
11AM- Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
The sounds of the Tabernacle Choir floated in to many homes during the holidays in the '60s & '70s on Goodyear and Firestone albums, bringing lush renditions of favorite Christmas carols. Those warm memories and feelings come right back again in this holiday special. The choir continues its tradition of great artistry with touching arrangements of familiar carols, and surprises with lesser-known melodies that will surely become the new classics.
Noon- A Soulful Christmas
Julie Amacher and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu host this uplifting Christmas special that features Black music and composers.
1PM- The Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera presents - Aida at the Met
3PM- Apollo's Fire presents Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain: An Irish-Appalachian Celebration
In this one-hour special, the listener is transported from Christmas Eve in medieval Scotland to the folk carols and shape‐note hymns at a toe‐tapping Christmas gathering in Virginia. The people of the Appalachian Mountains welcome Christmas with LOVE, SINGING, DANCING, and PRAYER.
5PM- The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays
The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays is an hour-long special devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music. In addition to beloved standards (“White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from “Meet Me in St. Louis”), Michael shares an eclectic mix of wintry film scores, ranging from “It Happened in Sun Valley” (from “Sun Valley Serenade”) to Alexandre Desplat’s folk-inspired score for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to Bernard Herrmann’s bracing sleigh ride accompaniment composed for the Orson Welles drama “The Magnificent Ambersons.” Bundle up and enjoy The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays!
