2023 Holiday Program Schedule
Monday, 12/11/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
Candles Burning Brightly
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.
Wednesday, 12/13/23
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
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.
Friday, 12/15/23
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
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.
Saturday, 12/16/23
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
AcousticConnections - Songs of Joy
The Christmas season reminds us that joy and light can spring from darkness and despair. That's the theme of this week's AcousticConnections. We'll hear songs that tell the Christmas story, and about how each day gets brighter after the longest night of the year just ahead.
Sunday, 12/17/23
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. WSHU-FM
A Victorian Christmas with David Bouchier
Join David Bouchier for the annual Victorian Christmas Show -- an afternoon of seasonal music and stories about the traditions, myths and entertainments of Christmas a century and more ago.
Monday, 12/18/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
Welcome Christmas!
An hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs
The choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation, get together to present 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.
Tuesday, 12/19/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico
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.
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
WSHU holiday selections
An hour of special music curated by WSHU classical hosts.
Wednesday, 12/20/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
A Mexican Baroque Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
This holiday program features over two centuries of festive Christmas dances and songs from the great cathedrals of Puebla and Mexico City.
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
All Is Bright
All Is Bright offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene.
Thursday, 12/21/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays
This special is devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music. It includes beloved standards like “White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from “Meet Me in St. Louis” and 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.”
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
An Afro Blue Christmas
A very special holiday concert with Howard University's premiere, a-cappela vocal ensemble Afro Blue and special guest pianist Cyrus Chestnut. They perform a variety of holiday songs including African-American spirituals, jazz and pop tunes, and classical repertoire.
Friday, 12/22/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
Festivo AltLatino with Gaby Moreno & Friends
NPR Music’s Alt.Latino presents a 2015 encore featuring songwriter/performer Gaby Moreno and her band performing tracks from her popular holiday album Posada - recorded live at the KUT studios in Austin, Texas. She was joined by special guests Gina Chavez and Chicano Zen bandleader and record producer Michael Ramos
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
Mark O’Connor’s An Appalachian Christmas
Mark O’Connor, famous bluegrass fiddler and respected American composer, leads the O’Connor Band and special guest Nancy Ives, principal cellist of the Oregon Symphony, in An Appalachian Christmas.
Saturday, 12/23/23
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. WSHU-FM
Your Classical Christmas Favorites
Join us this holiday season as we count down the top christmas songs as voted by you in a two-hour special.
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
AcousticConnections - Songs of Peace
The quest for peace is perhaps the most important message of Christmas. On this edition of AcousticConnections we’ll hear songs about finding peace in times of war as well as making peace with friends and family if those relationships need to be rebuilt.
Sunday, 12/24/23
7 a.m. to 10 a.m.,12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WSHU-FM, WSHU-FM/WSUF
Sunday Baroque
Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year, and Sunday Baroque is planning a special day of music to celebrate the season. It’s the perfect, sparkling playlist for this merry day featuring beloved Christmas carols that date back to the baroque era and earlier … joyful baroque Christmas Concertos … and music inspired by the arrival of the Winter Solstice. Spice up your holiday with Sunday Baroque this weekend.
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal Classical music, presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. WSHU-FM
A Victorian Christmas with David Bouchier
Join David Bouchier for the annual Victorian Christmas Show -- an afternoon of seasonal music and stories about the traditions, myths and entertainments of Christmas a century and more ago.
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
Echoes Seasonal Slow Flow Christmas
In an all-instrumental program, we create a soundscape for the season. We play music inspired by the season in all its quiet majesty and interior warmth. Original songs mix with carols from artists like George Winston, Ólafur Arnalds, Erik Wøllo and many more. We weave these sounds into seamless sets of music perfect for that pause just before Christmas.
8 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
Echoes Christmas
Flow into a soundscape for that long winter’s nap; or for wrapping presents and putting together those last-minute toys. John Diliberto will bring you music from Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Kate Bush, George Winston, Loreena McKennitt and the new Winter Tales collection. Hear traditional carols reinvented and new carols for the 21st century. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night with an Echoes Christmas.
11 p.m. to 12 a.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
A Paul Winter Solstice
This Winter Solstice special brings a starry array of Brazilian guests, including Ivan Lins, Renato Braz, and Luciana Souza, with the Paul Winter Consort at the annual solstice concerts in New York’s Cathedral of St John the Divine.
Monday, 12/25/23
8 a.m. to 9 a.m. WSHU-FM
Welcome Christmas!
An hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
9 a.m. to 10 a.m. WSHU-FM
WSHU holiday selections
An hour of special music curated by WSHU classical hosts.
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. WSHU-FM
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival was started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department. It 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.
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WSHU-FM
WSHU holiday selections
An hour of special music curated by WSHU classical hosts.
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. WSHU-FM
Handel’s Messiah
WSHU’s Lauren Rico presents a wonderful performance of Handel’s Messiah with John Rutter conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Cambridge Singers and soloists.
3 p.m. to 4 p.m. WSHU-FM
The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays
This special is devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music. It includes beloved standards like “White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from “Meet Me in St. Louis” and 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.”
8 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
An encore presentation of the world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast, recorded live, of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal Classical music, presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
Tuesday, 12/26/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
The Sounds of Kwanzaa
Host Garrett McQueen (Loki Karuna) 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.
Wednesday, 12/27/23
8 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU- FM
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio
Kate Remington presents Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in a stellar performance with the Dresden Chamber Choir, soloists and the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig conducted by Riccardo Chailly.
Thursday, 12/28/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WSHU-FM
A Handel & Haydn Society Christmas
Christmas choral music from America’s oldest continuously performing ensemble, Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society. Founded in 1815, the Society is celebrating their bicentennial season, including their 400th performance of Handel’s “Messiah.”
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM
Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs
The choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation, get together to present 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.
Friday, 12/29/23
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
A Season’s Griot WSHU-FM
This annual, one-hour celebration in story and song is hosted by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson. A Season’s Griot captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples.
Saturday, 12/30/23
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
AcousticConnections - The Turning of the Year
As the New Year approaches, AcousticConnections has a collection of songs to usher out the old year and welcome in the days that lie ahead. We'll even hear songs about ringing in the New Year at sea!
Sunday, 12/31/23
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
Echoes Winter Solstice Soundscape 2023
Get ready for the big chill on an Echoes Winter Solstice. Echoes’ John Diliberto creates a soundscape of snow-shrouded trees, silent saguaro cacti and white-out conditions. It’s a winter fantasy with no Christmas carols, but a sleigh full of music taking you into the celestial and chilled side of the season.
8 p.m. to 10 p.m. WSHU-FM/WSUF
An Echoes Winterlude with David Arkenstone
Five-Time Grammy® Nominee David Arkenstone has released over 60 albums since his acclaimed 1987 debut on Narada Records, Valley of Clouds. He's also scored NBC Sports themes such as for The Kentucky Derby, and gaming music for World of Warcraft. He plays multiple instruments, including keyboards, guitar, Native American flutes and more, infusing his music with fantasy imagery. His new Winterlüde album is a gem of all-original compositions that perfectly soundtracks the spirit of the winter season. He'll play music from it live on an Echoes Winterlude.
Monday, 1/1/24
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. WSHU-FM
New Year's Day From Vienna 2024
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.