iStock
Christmas Specials on radio
Music and stories for your Christmas celebration
-
Fred Vigeant
iStock
WITF is adjusting our normal schedule for Christmas with the following special programs:
December 21:
2:00pm – 3:00pm – DreamWrights’ Radio Drama: Auntie Scrooge – A hilarious modern-day sequel to Charles Dickens’ classic.
December 22:
2:00pm – 3:00pm – DreamWrights’ Radio Drama: Grinch who Stole Christmas & The Plot to Overthrow Christmas – The Grinch who Stole Christmas is an adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss book. The Plot to Overthrow Christmas is told entirely in rhyme and brings a group of notorious characters together in their efforts to overthrow Christmas.
December 23:
9:00am – 10:00am – Tinsel Tales – 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 Lynn Neary. This program repeats at 7:00pm
8:00pm – 9:00pm – Christmas at the Movies – Unwrap some of the accompanying music in many Christmas scenes in movies. Holiday favorites such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle On 34th Street, The Bishop’s Wife and others.
9:00pm – 10:00pm – Hollywood Holiday – A musical retrospective of some of Hollywood’s most cherished Christmas themed movies.
December 24:
9:00am – 10:00am – DreamWrights’ Radio Drama: Auntie Scrooge – see 12/21 at 9:00am
10:00am – 12:00pm – Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols – 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 King’s College.
12:00pm – 1:00pm – Welcome Christmas – Enjoy this VocalEssence holiday concert with joyful, classic holiday music.
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Tinsel Tales 2 – 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
2:00pm – 3:00pm – Tinsel Tales 3 – Hear the third collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places
3:00pm – 4:00pm – Tinsel Tales 4 – The fourth collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places. NPR’s past and present tell stories of the season in this hour-long special. Some tales are funny; some are touching; some are insightful or irreverent or nostalgic or surprising.
7:00pm – 8:00pm – Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square – Hear the holiday celebration featuring a choir of 360 voices, a 150-piece orchestra at Temple Square, the 32-member Bells on Temple Square, along with other artists and special guests.
8:00pm – 9:00pm – A Chanticleer Christmas – Featuring holiday favorites, new and old, presented in concert by the superb 12-man ensemble known as “an orchestra of voices.”
9:00pm – 10:00pm – Musical Gifts: Joshua Bell and Friends – Celebrate the season with superstar violinist Joshua Bell, performing traditional favorites and new holiday arrangements
10:00pm – 12:00am – Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra – Recorded on December 22, 2019 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ, features up-and-coming conductor Roderick Cox leading the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and a stellar lineup of soloists in Handel’s iconic oratorio.
December 25:
9:00am – 10:00am – DreamWrights’ Radio Drama: Grinch who Stole Christmas & The Plot to Overthrow Christmas – See 12/22 at 9:00am
10:00am – 11:00am – Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square – see 12/24 at 7:00pm
11:00am – 12:00pm – St. Olaf Christmas Festival – St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a chance for listeners across the country and around the world to participate in one of the nation’s most treasured holiday celebrations.
12:00pm – 1:00pm – Christmas with the 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 a spine-tingling concert program.
1:00pm – 2:00pm – A Soulful Christmas – An uplifting Christmas special with music, gospel, spiritual and jazz-inspired styles, this special celebrates and explores non-idiomatic Black classical music and choral traditions.
2:00pm – 3:00pm – Jazz Piano Christmas – Join us for a twist on the classics you love! This year, the holiday tradition spotlights three of today’s most prolific jazz pianists: REDWOOD, Cory Henry, and NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron. Felix Contreras hosts.
3:00pm – 4:00pm – 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.
6:30pm – 7:00pm – The Christmas Skater – Like “An Affair to Remember” but with a Christmas theme.
7:00pm – 8:00pm – Jonathan Winters’ A Christmas Carol – Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens’ holiday classic, with a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations.
8:00pm – 9:00pm – 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.
9:00pm – 10:00pm – All Songs Considered for the Holidays – For this holiday party, Bob and Robin return to the cozy cabin where it all began. The special guests include Taylor Swift, Jenny Lewis, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Lucy Dacus and more. What could possibly go wrong?
10:00pm – 12:00am – Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols – See 12/24 at 10:00am
Mosaic is WITF’s home for all things arts, culture and lifestyle.
We spotlight and uplift the creators around us, featuring amazing artists, musicians, authors, chefs, dancers, designers, photographers, and more.
