Radio/ Programs

8:00pm-9:00pm

Candles Burning Brightly

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 Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Hosts Mindy Ratner and Bill Morelock offer a program which explores the customs and music of Hanukkah.

9:00pm-10:00pm

A Jazz Piano Christmas XXIII

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.

10:00pm-11:00pm

The Great American Songbook Holiday Special 2012

Join host Philip Furia for an enduring body of holiday songs, performed generation after generation by musicians and singers in styles that range from jazz to blues, rock to country. Hear the stories behind the songs, and hear familiar artists singing them.

The program shows how the Great American Songbook came into being during the first half of the 20th-century through the interplay of the sheet-music publishing industry known as "Tin Pan Alley," the Broadway musical, the emergence of radio in the 1920s, the advent of sound movies, the creation of a jazz repertoire, and developments in the recording industry.

8:00pm-10:00pm

A Christmas Celtic Sojourn

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of sold-out concerts around New England, A Christmas Celtic Sojourn host Brian O'Donovan has assem0bled 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.

10:00pm-11:00pm

A Winter Solstice with Helicon

The folk trio, Helicon includes wooden flute virtuoso Chris Norman, guitarist Robin Bullock, and hammered-dulcimer player Ken Kolodner.  These three musicians re-unite each holiday seson on the Saturday before Christmas to put on an eclectic concert that has been a holiday tradition for music lovers in the Baltimore area. (Produced by WPSU-FM)

11:00pm-12:00am

Festivo Alt.Latino

Latin American holiday traditions often reflect both indigenous and European roots with distinct characteristics that are often only similar in the language used.
NPR Music's Alt.Latino hosts Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd take us on a Latin American holiday travelogue through the eyes and ears of four very different Latin Alternative musicians who put aside their contemporary sounds and go back to their musical and cultural roots.

Latin Alternative music is at its core a cultural hybrid of tradition mixed with genres like hip hop, rock, punk and electronic dance music. Contreras and Garsd have assembled a sampling of some of the genre's most creative minds to share holiday music from four very rich Latin American cultures.

7:00pm-8:00pm

Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites

This program features 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. Hosted by NPR’s Lynn Neary.

8:00pm-11:00pm

Handel's Messiah from Boston

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.

11:00pm-12:00am

Advent Voices

Advent is a time of quiet contemplation and waiting. It's waiting for darkness to become light and for hopes to be realized. Throughout the centuries Advent has been observed musically in sacred and secular ways. Join Lynne Warfel for an hour of the most beautiful vocal music inspired by and written for Advent.

9:00am-10:00am

Holiday Music from WPSU

After the Writer’s Almanac at 9:00, Kristine Allen hosts an hour of holiday music from the WPSU library.

10:00am-12:00pm

A Festival of Nine Lessons And Carols

The popular live transatlantic broadcast of the Christmas Eve music and spoken word performance form Kings’ 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.  Michale Barone is host for this live broadcast.

12:00pm-2:00pm

Holiday Music from WPSU

Kristine Allen hosts an eclectic blend of holiday music from the WPSU library.

2:00pm-3:00pm

A Chanticleer Christmas

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.

6:00pm-7:00pm

All Songs Considered for the Holidays

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.

7:00pm-8:00pm

Holiday Music from WPSU

Kristine Allen hosts an eclectic blend of holiday music from the WPSU library.

8:00pm-10:00pm

Winterfest 2011: Our Gift in Song

A repeat broadcast of last year’s Winterfest concert, featuring Penn State’s Essence of Joy and Essence 2 in a rousing selection of holiday music form the African and African American choral traditions.

10:00pm-11:00pm

Holiday Music from WPSU

Kristine Allen hosts an eclectic blend of holiday music from the WPSU library.

11:00pm-12:00am

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.

9:00am-10:00am

Holiday Music from WPSU

After the Writer’s Almanac at 9:00, Kristine Allen hosts an hour of holiday music from the WPSU library.

10:00am-12:00pm

Winterfest 2012: What Sweeter Music

A repeat broadcast of of WPSU’s 2nd annual holiday concert, WINTERFEST 2012: WHAT SWEETER MUSIC.  The concert features harpist Anne Sullivan, the Pennsylvania Center Orchestra, conducted by Douglas Meyer with violinist James Lyon, and the State College High School Chamber Singers in music for the holiday season.

12:00pm-2:00pm

Holiday Music from WPSU

Kristine Allen hosts an eclectic blend of holiday music from the WPSU library.

2:00pm-3:00pm

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.

6:00pm-7:00pm

Tinsel Tales 2

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.

7:00pm-8:00pm

Holiday Music from WPSU

Kristine Allen hosts an eclectic blend of holiday music from the WPSU library.

8:00pm-10:00pm

Winterfest 2012: What Sweeter Music

A repeat broadcast of of WPSU’s 2nd annual holiday concert, WINTERFEST 2012: WHAT SWEETER MUSIC.  The concert features harpist Anne Sullivan, the Pennsylvania Center Orchestra, conducted by Douglas Meyer with violinist James Lyon, and the State College High School Chamber Singers in music for the holiday season.

10:00pm-11:00pm

Holiday Music from WPSU

Kristine Allen hosts an eclectic blend of holiday music from the WPSU library.

11:00pm-12:00am

A Chanticleer Christmas

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.

8:00pm-9:00pm

A Season's Griot

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.

8:00pm-9:00pm

A Capitol Steps New Year's Eve Special

Spend a hilarious hour with musical political satire from The Capitaol Steps, as they look back on one crazy election year! You’ll hear songs from their album, “Take the Money and Run for Preisdent”, as well as songs and skits about the very latest scandals and slip-ups in Washington.

9:00pm-5:00am

Toast of the Nation

An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s.  Toast of the Nation is jazz that you can party to, all night from coast to coast, with countdowns to midnight in all four continental time zones. Spirited, improvised, grooving and swinging, each segment is a stop in a sequence of celebrations and contributing something new to the musical feast. WBGO's Rhonda Hamilton anchors the show.

Our headliner Wynton Marsalis rings in 2013 Eastern Time playing the music of Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives & Sevens, live from Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center.