Celebrate the holiday season with WKAR Radio!
On 90.5 FM | Tune in and enjoy a variety of holiday classics and seasonal favorites.
DECEMBER 2023
7 | Thu | 7-8pm
(Preempts Michigan Matinee)
A Chanukah Celebration with Chicago a cappella
Join Jonathan Miller, artistic director of Chicago a cappella and a longtime champion of Jewish choral music, for an inspiring and informative show featuring choral music set to Chanukah texts. Familiar tunes include "I Have a Little Dreidel" (both in its original Yiddish form and in a neo-funk Hebrew/English setting), a swing version of "S'vivon" by Steve Barnett, and a lively setting of the traditional melody for "Al-Hanissim" ("For the Miracles") by Elliot Levine. Heartfelt original compositions by American and British composers provide added depth of expression to celebrating the holiday. Such works include "Lo Yisa Goy," a plea for peace by Stacy Garrop; Bob Applebaum's stirring new version of "Haneirot Halalu"; and movements from the majestic "Hallel Suite" by London-based Daniel Tunkel. All selections are performed by Chicago a cappella, the virtuoso vocal ensemble now in its 23rd season. Jonathan Miller provides liturgical and cultural background as part of this unique look inside old and newer choral Chanukah traditions.
10 | Sun |4-5pm
(Preempts FIESTA)
Candles Burning Brightly with Mindy Ratner
A delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! Lots of music from Jewish communities around the world, plus a hilarious lesson on how to prepare a classic Chanukah dish, and a timeless and touching holiday story that brings light into every home.
15 | Fri | 6-7pm
(Preempts Fresh Air)
NPR’s Hanukkah Lights 2023
This NPR favorite returns with the best of the best Hanukkah Lights stories plus a special musical performance by The LeeVees. Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.
18 | Mon | 11am-12pm
A Chanticleer Christmas
This one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, will be presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices." Chanticleer is one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the nation. The ensemble has won two Grammys and is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
19| Tue | 1-2pm
Carols as Home with the Imani Winds
JCarols as Home features a modern take on classic Christmas carols, hosted by Imani Winds founding oboist, Toyin Spellman-Diaz. Toyin coaxes intimate stories of Christmas memories from the members of the ensemble, and why these classic carols are still essential today. You’ll hear many of your favorite carols updated with the ensembles’ own imaginative take.
20| Wed | 10-11am
All is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas
All Is Bright, with host Lynne Warfel, offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene.
20| Wed | 1-2pm
A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico
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.
21| Thu | 11am-12pm
A Winter’s Solstice - In Winter's Glow
A winter solstice program, with modern classical sounds for the longest night of the year, chosen especially to compliment the chilly, starry nights of the season.
21| Thu | 2-3pm
The Ballad of the Brown King and Other Music for Christmas by Black Composers
Dr. Louise Toppin, a preeminent performer and scholar specializing in the concert repertoire of African American composers, presents the world premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s The Ballad of the Brown King (Avie Records, 2018). With a libretto by Langston Hughes, this Christmas cantata focuses on Balthazar, the dark-skinned king who journeyed to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus Christ. This gorgeous work is beautifully interpreted by New York City-based The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra, soloists soprano Laquita Mitchell, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford and tenor Noah Stewart, with Malcolm J. Merriweather at the podium.
22 | Fri | 11am-12pm
Welcome Christmas with VocalEssence
There’s no better way to welcome Christmas than Welcome Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert. It’s an hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
22 | Fri | 12:06-2p
Holiday Cheer with the MSU Symphony Orchestra and Various Choirs
More than 200 members from MSU’s Symphony Orchestra and Choirs bring the joy and spirit of the season to life in this holiday music tradition. A concert for the entire family, a variety of holiday favorites are included, from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Handel’s Messiah, to Anderson’s Sleigh Ride and audience singalong. Jonathan Reed and Octavio Más-Arocas, conductors. Original performance scheduled to be held at MSU’s Wharton Center, Sat. December 9th.
22 | Fri | 2-4pm
The New York Philharmonic This Week
The New York Philharmonic offers a performance of one of the season’s musical crown jewels, Handel’s Messiah. Masaaki Suzuki leads the orchestra with soprano Sherezade Panthaki, countertenor Reginald Mobley, tenor Leif Auruhn Solén, and baritone Jonathon Adams. In a special collaboration, Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society Chorus appears in this performance.
23 | Sat | 1-2pm
Carols as Home with the Imani Winds
Carols as Home features a modern take on classic Christmas carols, hosted by Imani Winds founding oboist, Toyin Spellman-Diaz. Toyin coaxes intimate stories of Christmas memories from the members of the ensemble, and why these classic carols are still essential today. You’ll hear many of your favorite carols updated with the ensembles’ own imaginative take.
23 | Sat | 2-3pm
Anticipation and Celebration: Advent with the Montserrat Boy Choir
Perched atop the mountains near Barcelona, the choir of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious boy choirs. For the first time in their 800-year history, the choir made its Midwest premiere. Bringing with them a message of peace, the choristers will use music to transcend borders and speak directly to your heart. In this special the ensemble sings a wide range of works. From Gregorian Chant to pieces by contemporary Spanish composer Bernat Vivancos (b.1972), the Monserrat Boy Choir sing with style and an attention to detail that is sure to enthrall listeners.
23 | Sat | 3-5pm
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. It features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers and the Viking Chorus, performing as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
23 | Sat | 8-10pm
(Preempts A Groove Supreme)
A Jazzy Little Christmas, hosted by Michael Stratton The annual favorite returns, as the MSU Professors of Jazz hand pick their holiday favorites and play them with a joy and creative interpretation that keeps audiences coming back year after year. Joined by special guests, Rodney Whitaker leads an all-star cast of master improvisers who can thrill and fill the hall with cheer. The concert will be hosted by WKAR’s Michael Stratton, host of A Groove Supreme. Original Jazzy Little Christmas Concert performance scheduled to be held at MSU’s Fairchild Theatre, Sat. December 16th.
24 | Sun | 10am-12pm
(Preempts Hidden Brain/This American Life)
A Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols, Live from the Choir of King’s College Cambridge
The audience will share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal ‘classical’ music (anthems a cappella and with organ accompaniment, and congregational hymns), presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue. Hosted by Michael Barone.
24 | Sun | 10pm-12am
A Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols, Live from the Choir of King’s College Cambridge
The audience will share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal ‘classical’ music (anthems a cappella and with organ accompaniment, and congregational hymns), presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue. Hosted by Michael Barone.
24 | Sun | 9-10pm
The Thistle & Shamrock Presents "A Child’s Christmas In Wales"
Cerys Matthews is Welsh musician and patron of the Dylan Thomas Society. In this program, originally broadcast in 2015, she narrates excerpts from the Dylan Thomas holiday classic, set to music that she created and recorded with her collaborator Mason Neely. One reviewer wrote: "Dylan’s words are so deliciously descriptive to begin with, and Matthews’ lilting Welsh accent, and deep understanding of the culture illuminates them further. Her love of Dylan’s poetry shines throughout, and serves to make it accessible to a wide audience." Hosted by Fiona Ritchie.
25 | Mon | 9-10am
Welcome Christmas with VocalEssence
There’s no better way to welcome Christmas than Welcome Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert. It’s an hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
25 | Mon | 10am-12pm
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. It features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers and the Viking Chorus, performing as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
25 | Mon | 12-2pm
A Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols, Live from the Choir of King’s College Cambridge
The audience will share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal ‘classical’ music (anthems a cappella and with organ accompaniment, and congregational hymns), presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue. Hosted by Michael Barone.
25 | Mon | 2-3pm
All is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas
All Is Bright, with host Lynne Warfel, offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene.
25 | Mon | 3-4pm
A Chanticleer Christmas
This one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, will be presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices." Chanticleer is one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the nation. The ensemble has won two Grammys and is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
25 | Mon | 6-7pm
(Preempts Fresh Air)
The Big Tiny Desk Holiday Special
Celebrate the season with amazing holiday performances from The Tiny Desk Concert series including Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Steve Martin, Hanson, The Polyphonic Spree and more! Hosted by NPR Music frenemies Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson.
26 | Tue | 2-3pm
(Preempts C-24)
The Sounds of Kwanzaa
During the aftermath of the Watts Uprisings in the 1960s, Dr. Maulana Karenga decided to create a special December holiday designed for Black people to celebrate themselves, their culture, and their future liberation. Today, Kwanzaa is still celebrated by not only Afro-Americans, but Black people around the globe! In this broadcast, Loki Karuna (formerly Garrett McQueen) offers a background on the history of Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside musical selections that highlight the spirit of the celebration. The show features the compositions of Florence Price, Duke Ellington, Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by Imani Winds.
29 | Fri | 2-4pm
The New York Philharmonic This Week
This week, we bring you a selection of winter-themed highlights from the New York Philharmonic’s storied discography. You will hear sleigh bells from Mozart, Mahler, and Leroy Anderson, concertmaster Frank Huang leading Winter from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
JANUARY 2024
Monday 1/1/24, 11am
New Year’s Day From Vienna - LIVE, underwritten locally by PLAS Labs.
The ever popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Christian Thielemann. With this concert it is not only the desire of the Vienna Philharmonic to provide musically definitive interpretations of the masterworks of this genre, but also, as musical ambassadors of Austria, to send people all over the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace. Hosted by WBUR's Lisa Mullins.