MSPR Holiday Programs 2012
Holiday programming on MSPR is supported by Health Plus PSC, Rowan County Arts Center, CoffeeTree Books and Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop and UNICA MMA and Fitness Academy, wishing you Happy Holidays with peace, joy and good health in the New Year.
Monday, December 10th
10-11am "Hanukkah Lights 2012" (NPR)
- A perennial NPR favorite, Hanukkah Lights features Hanukkah stories and memoirs written by acclaimed authors expressly for the show, as read by NPR's Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.
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11am-12pm "Hanukkah in Story and Song" (PRI)
- Chanukah in Story and Song — A returning one-hour Chanukah favorite, a celebration by The Western Wind performing Ladino songs of Spanish Jews, Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe and modern Israeli tunes. Leonard Nimoy is host.
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Tuesday, December 11th
10-11am "Candles Burning Brightly" (PRI)
- More than two thousand years ago, in the days of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the religious life of the Jews was brought almost to a halt by the ancient Greeks. But rather than give in to the pressure to assimilate, a band of Jews who practiced their faith in secret returned to their holy city and rededicated the Temple. Their courageous act and its aftermath form the focus of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Mindy Ratner and Bill Morelock offer a program which explores the customs and music of the holiday.
Monday, December 17th
10-11am "Welcome Christmas!" (APM)
The best way to welcome Christmas is Welcome Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert from American Public Media. New for 2012: Bring a Torch! This year's program puts the focus on old French carols, alongside two world premieres in the annual VocalEssence/American Composers Forum Christmas carol contest. The new carols call for the intriguing combination of men's chorus with English horn.
11-11:30am "Carols: Then and Now" (MTC)
Join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir along with nine-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter and vocalist Natalie Cole. Includes "Come, O Come;" "Dance and Sing;" "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing;" and "Angels, From the Realms of Glory." David McCullough narrates American Christmas Memories: The story of a Christmas Carol and a Beloved Song.
11:30am-12pm "A Tradition of Christmas" (MTC)
1-2pm "Choral Christmas Card" (APM)
Just as our communities are more pan-cultural and our family units less traditional, so the idea of what makes for an old-fashioned Christmas has expanded. We're drawn as always by the familiar flavors of the past, but intrigued by the new seasonings of the season. Everything old is new again with a coast-to-coast sampler of the country's best choirs. It's a Choral Christmas Card.
2-3pm "Christmas Daybreak" (PRI)
Tuesday, December 18th
10-11am "Echoes of Christmas" (APM)
- Moving selections of choral classics celebrating Christmas. The Dale Warland Singers provided magical performances to listeners across the country for over 30 years and were acclaimed as America's premiere choir. Their signature holiday concert—beloved by public radio listeners nationwide—was the annual Echoes of Christmas program. Drawing upon the archive of their live performances, Dale Warland and host Brian Newhouse create a very special Christmas musical treat.
11am-12pm "Roll Credits: A Hollywood Holiday" (PRI)
- During the holidays we unpack, dust off and polish up countless traditions. Some are surrounded by festive foods, others involve preparing and decorating for family, friends and homecomings. Many of these special times include classic movies that take us back to wonderful Christmases past. Lynne Warfel shares music that made great films from "A Christmas Carol" to "Polar Express" come alive with the warmth and sparkle of the season.
1-3pm "Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker" (RCA Victor)
Wednesday, December 19th
10-11am "Cantus All Is Calm" (APM)
Julie Amacher hosts an uplifting musical drama about the surprising 1914 World War I Christmas Truce. Theater Latte' Da and Cantus, one of America's most accomplished male choirs, have created a profoundly moving new work of musical radio theater. Using the diary entries of soldiers and beautiful new arrangements of Christmas favorites, All is Calm tells both sides of the story, as men who had been trying to kill each other in the fields of France, spontaneously put down their guns, walked across no-man's land, and sang together.
11-11:30am "Heaven and Nature Sing" (WXXI)
- Heaven and Nature Sing! is an artistic exploration of the joy of Christmas manifest through music. Recorded live at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, the message and mystery of Christmas are celebrated with anthems and carols by Winston Castler, John Rutter, Mack Wilberg, Deborah Lutz and F. Melius Christiansen, and a traditional Nigerian Carol arranged by Wendell Whalum.
11:30am-12pm "A Wondrous Christmas" (MTC)
- David Archuleta ("American Idol") joins the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a Christmas celebration. Included: "Processional: A Christmas Roundelay"; "Joy to the World"; "Gesù bambino"; "Ring Out Ye Crystal Spheres"; and "The Cat and the Mouse Carol."
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1-2pm "A Harpist's Christmas with Yolanda Kondonasis" (APM)
- A Harpist's Christmas with Yolanda Kondonassis is a celebration of the holiday with familiar carols arranged for harp, flute and viola. Host Fred Child welcomes one of the world's pre-eminent harpists, Yolanda Kondonassis, into the music studio to play these tunes and to talk about what makes each of these carols so special. Yolanda is joined by Joshua Smith, principal flutist with the Cleveland Orchestra, and Cynthia Phelps, principal violist with the New York Philharmonic. The particular blend of these instruments is at once delicate and dynamic. It's a beautiful way to celebrate the season.
2-3pm "Christmas with Madrigalia 2012" (WXXI)
- This holiday season, Madrigalia returns to public radio for Christmas with Madrigalia: A Time to Rejoice. This program of holiday cheer fills the season with joy, and features many Madrigalia favorites along with some new seasonal tunes to brighten the darkest of winter's days. The program features settings of familiar tunes and texts by some of today's most brilliant young composers along with some less familiar, yet captivating melodies.
Thursday, December 20th
9-10am "A Chanticleer Christmas" (APM)
- A Chanticleer Christmas is American Public Media's one-hour celebration of the season as told through the glorious voices of Chanticleer, the 12-voice San Francisco-based men's choir. The program spans the globe and the centuries - from England in the 1300s to new arrangements of classic and contemporary carols.
10-11pm "Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs" (NPR)
- One of the great holiday traditions in America, the choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges -- two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation -- get together to present a spine-tingling concert program. This year's program features the best works of the last several years. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark mixture of spirituals and carols. Korva Coleman hosts.
11am-12pm "A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico" (NPR)
Celebrate Christmas with the sound of soaring voices. Stile Antico, the award-winning choir from London, pays a visit to St. Paul's Church on Harvard Square for a concert of radiant sacred music for the Christmas season by the most acclaimed composers of the renaissance. Hear the group's luminous blend of voices sing the intricately woven music of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. Hosted by Cathy Fuller of WGBH.
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1-2pm "Leroy Anderson Christmas" (WFMT)
- This one hour program contains classic Christmas arrangements and original music by Leroy Anderson. It is hosted by conductor Leonard Slatkin and the composer's son Kurt Anderson, and features recorded performances of Leroy Anderson's Christmas Music with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Leroy Anderson conducting his Pops Concert Orchestra. Listeners will also hear Leroy Anderson talking about how he wrote some of his famous Christmas music and what Christmas means to him.
2-3pm "Slavic Wonders: Christmas with The Rose Ensemble" (TRE)
- Slavic Wonders is a stunning celebration of the season featuring some truly brilliant gems from the libraries and monasteries of Krakow, Prague, and Moscow. The Rose Ensemble of Minnesota has put together a program of dazzling, passionate music for Christmastime in the great variety and range they are known for. Hear everything from soaring soprano lines, to the signature Slavic sound of rumbling basses; Slavic Wonders is an engaging and curious mixture of chant, carols, and glorious polyphony.
Friday, December 21st
9-10am "Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol" (NPR)
- An updated version of 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. Also featuring Mimi Kennedy. From NPR and KCRW.
10-11am "MSU Recital Series Holiday" (MSU)
11am-12pm "Children's Holiday Hour 2012" (MSPR)
1-3pm "A Paul Winter Solstice Concert" (NPR)
The holiday tradition continues with Paul Winter's Winter Solstice Celebration. A dynamic musical celebration in the extraordinary acoustics of the worlds largest Gothic cathedral - New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Hear a unique exploration of the solstice tradition in cultures near and far. The Paul Winter Consort is joined by musicians from all over the world, including Russia's Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble and gospel singer Theresa Thomasson.
7-8pm "All Songs Considered for the Holidays" (NPR)
It's the fourth edition of the not so new, wonky holiday tradition from NPR Music. Host Bob Boilen and friends trade holiday cheer and snarky barbs while bringing you the best holiday songs from new and emerging breakout bands. This show is filled with fun and fresh renditions of great holiday music.
Saturday, December 22nd
4-5pm "An Acoustic Christmas: A Fiddler's Holiday" (MSPR)
- This concert is a musical celebration of the winter holiday season, a time when families gather round hearth and home to keep their spirits warm and bright. Jay Ungar and Molly Mason are best known for Ashokan Farewell, the musical centerpiece of the Grammy Award winning score of the The Civil War series, and other frequent collaborations with Ken Burns. In this concert album, The Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Family Band is accompanied by the University of Mary Washington Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dr. Kevin P. Bartram.
8pm-Midnight "Nothin' But The Blues Christmas" with Paul Hitchcock
- Paul Hitchcock hosts a Nothin' But The Blues Christmas with festive songs for the season from Charles Brown, B.B. King, Roomful of Blues, Marcia Ball, Koko Taylor, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, W.C. Clark and others.
Sunday, December 23rd
4-5pm "Tinsel Tales" (NPR)
- NPR fills millions of homes each holiday with humor, warmth, and a host of festive voices. Continuing with the tradition of the first Tinsel Tales program, this is another collection of the best and most requested holiday stories. Joy, hope, and childhood memories overflow as NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season. Hosted by Lynn Neary.
8-9pm "Joy to the World" (WVPB)
- Joy To The World is a one-hour live performance holiday jazz program hosted by pianist Bob Thompson. Produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting in Charleston, West Virginia for 18 years, the show is performed before a consistently sold-out audience at Charleston's Cultural Center Theater. Joy To The World has traditionally been the kickoff to the holiday season in Charleston.
9-10pm "A Child is Born: A Spiritual Christmas with Pianist Geri Allen" (AAPRC)
- Prodigious jazz piano master Geri Allen has a special treat for music lovers this Holiday Season, in this absolutely beautiful radio special featuring Geri on multiple keyboard instruments with spoken word and voice. The one-hour program is Hosted by Peabody Award Winning Radio Veteran Jim Luce, President of LightSoundSpace Studios, and highlights the sentiment and music of her new holiday CD release, "A Child is Born" from Motema music. Featuring Geri on multiple keyboard instruments with spoken word and voice, she gives soul stirring renditions of Christmas classics.
10-11pm "Jazz Piano Christmas" (NPR)
- NPR Music brings you another great concert from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. NEA Jazz Master Ellis Marsalis, Jason Moran, Geri Allen, and Taylor Eigsti, and other artists perform their favorite holiday songs.
Christmas Eve - Monday, December 24th
9-10am "Leroy Anderson Christmas" (WFMT)
- This one hour program contains classic Christmas arrangements and original music by Leroy Anderson. It is hosted by conductor Leonard Slatkin and the composer's son Kurt Anderson, and features recorded performances of Leroy Anderson's Christmas Music with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Leroy Anderson conducting his Pops Concert Orchestra.
10am-12pm "St. Olaf Christmas Festival " (APM)
A service in song and word that has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians who are members of five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
12-12:30pm "Sing Choirs of Angels" (MTC)
Music & the Spoken Word Christmas Special with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring Michael York. "Gloria in Excelsis" from Mass in C Minor; Three Dancing Carols: "The Shephards;" "Ring, Little Bells; "Bright and Glorious is the Sky;" and the narration of "Sing, Choir of Angels."
12:30-1pm "The Bells of Christmas" (MTC)
- Join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performing "How Far is it to Bethlehem;" "Noe! Noe!;" "Ding Dong! Merrily on High;" "O Tannenbaum;" and "Ring, Christmas Bells."
1-3pm "A Christmas Celtic Sojourn" (PRI)
- To celebrate the 10th anniversary of sold-out concerts around New England, A Christmas Celtic Sojourn host Brian O'Donovan has assembled some of the best musicians, singers, and dancers imaginable from around the Celtic world, and beyond! This year's live show is again led by music director Seamus Egan, leading his groundbreaking group Solas, along with harpist Catriona McKay, fiddlers Chris Stout and Winifred Horan on fiddle and cellist Natalie Haas. Singers include Chieftains vocalist Alyth McCormack from Scotland, the four-part harmonies of Navan, and the great vocals of Mick McAuley and Eamonn McElholm.
7-8pm "Children's Holiday Hour 2012" (MSPR)
8-9pm "Welcome Christmas!" (APM)
The best way to welcome Christmas is Welcome Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert from American Public Media. New for 2012: Bring a Torch! This year's program puts the focus on old French carols, alongside two world premieres in the annual VocalEssence/American Composers Forum Christmas carol contest. The new carols call for the intriguing combination of men's chorus with English horn.
9-10pm "Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs" (NPR)
- One of the great holiday traditions in America, the choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges -- two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation -- get together to present a spine-tingling concert program. This year's program features the best works of the last several years. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark mixture of spirituals and carols. Korva Coleman hosts.
10pm-Midnight "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols" (APM)
- The annual Christmas Eve favorite, broadcast live from the chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England.
Christmas Day - Tuesday, December 25th
Midnight-8am
- Holiday specials featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Dale Warland Singers, St. Olaf Christmas Festival, A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, and Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol.
8-9am "A Traditional Lessons and Carols from Dallas" (PRI)
- The Dallas Christmas Lessons & Carols has emerged as one of the most distinctive holiday events in Texas. Taking its British forebear as a starting point, it has made the rhythm of the familiar service its own in both song and text. The artistic director, Scott Dettra, is widely regarded as one of the finest concert organists of his generation, whose career has taken him from major appointments in Philadelphia and Washington, where he was associate director at National Cathedral.
9am-Noon "Handel's Messiah from Boston" (PRI)
- No holiday season is complete without Handel's stunning oratorio, and one of Boston's most cherished holiday traditions: Music Director Harry Christophers leads the Handel & Haydn Society Period Instrument Orchestra, Chorus, and internationally-acclaimed soloists in Handel's complete dramatic masterwork, in the acoustic splendor of Boston's Symphony Hall. Canadian superstars soprano Karina Gauvin and countertenor Daniel Taylor, British tenor extraordinaire James Gilchrist, and Boston's own premier baritone Sumner Thompson offer this season's unique rendition of this Boston tradition, hosted by longtime Boston broadcast voice Ron Della Chiesa.
Noon-7pm
- Classical Music Christmas favorites (Noon-3pm) and holiday specials featuring Chanticleer, Roll Credits: A Hollywood Holiday, Children's Holiday Hour, and An Acoustic Christmas: A Fiddler's Holiday. (3-7pm)
7-10pm "Americana Crossroads Christmas" with Tony Pence (MSPR)
Wednesday, December 26th
9-10am "A Season's Griot 2012" (PRI)
- An hour-long Kwanzaa celebration in story and song, again hosted by Madafo Lloyd Wilson. This year's program features youth as the special guest griots, reading their own original and traditional stories. Familiar and favorite elements of Griot will also be in place with plenty of music, and an original composition by the show's poet laureate, Beverly Fields Burnette.
