© 2024 WNMU-FM
Upper Great Lakes News, Music, and Arts & Culture
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Holiday Programs 2013

Programs Made Possible By You!

Click here to give a 2013 year-end gift to Pubilc Radio 90

(programs below listed by genre. For a chronological list, CLICK HERE)

 All Times Eastern

Programs aired on WNMU Public Radio 90
90.1FM and via our translators at 91.9 in Manistique, 96.5 in Escanaba and 97.9 in Stephenson,
and streamed online around the world at WNMUFM.ORG

Carols & Choral
Hope College Vespers Christmas
Tue Dec 24 at Noon

Vespers has been a Hope College tradition for more than 60 years.  For many families the event has been a highlight for generations with thousands of members of the Holland and Hope communities gather for the services each year.

Participating groups include Hope's Chapel Choir, College Chorus, and Symphonette, as well as organists, the flute choir and brass ensemble.

The Christmas Story through Carols Old & New
Fri Dec 20 at 11am and Thur Dec 26 at 10am

This choral music show tells the Christmas story through a variety of carols ranging from medieval music to carols written in the last few decades.  Each set focuses on a different part of the story, from the angels to Mary and the baby, the shepherds and how they spread their joyous message.

Rochester Festival of Lessons and Carols
Mon Dec 23 at 10am

Recorded at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York under the direction of organist/choirmaster Peter DuBois the program features traditional readings that were selected by King’s College Dean Eric Milner White in 1918, and music by Jan Sandström, David Willcocks, Gerre Hancock, Carson Cooman and others.

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols- LIVE!
Tue Dec 24 at 10 am

Hosted by Michael Barone, this is a live stereo music and spoken-word broadcast from the chapel of King's 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.

Welcome Christmas (NPR)
Wed, Dec 25 at 6am

Thur Dec 26 at 11am
An Operavore Christmas

An hour of Christmas and holiday music from the world of opera and oratorio sung by some of the greatest singers past and present including Marilyn Horne, Leontyne Price, Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampson, Joan Sutherland and more.

Heaven and Nature Sing
Mon Dec 23 at 3pm

Nearly 200 musicians from the ensembles of Houghton College’s Greatbatch School of Music in Houghton, New York bring a sense of wonder and enchantment to this festive season. 

Christmas with the Morehouse and Spelman Glee Cubs (NPR)
Fri Dec 27 at 10am

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 encore presentation 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.

Classic Christmas

Music of the Baroque Christmas Special
Wed Dec 25 at 7am

Wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season, with a presentation of 16th and 17th century brass and choral holiday music by composers such as Boris Ord, Paul Manz, Samuel Scheidt; Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Gabrieli; Arvo Pärt, Benjamin Britton, Harod Darke and John Tavener among others.

Paul Winter Solstice (NPR) - 2hr
Fri Dec 20 at 8pm

A Marquette Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert 2013 recorded at Kaufman Auditorium in Marquette.
Tue Dec 24 at 1pm

The Marquette Symphony Orchestra is a regional symphony orchestra made up of musicians from around the Upper Peninsula region. Principal conductor is Dr. Jacob Chi.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival  - 2hr
Tue Dec 24 at 8pm and Wed Dec 25 at 10am
A service in song and word that has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The St Olaf Christmas 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.

Christmastime in New York
Mon Dec 23 at 2pm

The Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine performs at the Medieval Sculpture Hall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a program that spans hundreds of years and describes the story of the nativity.

Valparasio University Christmas Concert (WFMT)
Wed Dec 25 at 9am

 

Chanticleer Christmas (NPR)
Wed Dec 25 at Noon

 

Christmas with Madrigalia
Wed Dec 25 at 1pm and Fri Dec 27 at 11am
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.

Jazz, Blues & International

Sound Spectrum Christmas Special with host Hans Ahlstrom
Sat Dec 21 at 10pm

Holiday offerings from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Loreena McKennitt, the Yellowjackets, Al Di Meola, Al Jarreau and more.

A Very Blues Christmas with Hans Ahlstrom
Sat Dec 21 at 11pm

Louis Armstrong wonders if the noise he hears is Saint Nick… Earl King pleads for Santa Claus to not let him down (like he did last year)… and Little Jimmy King says as long as he’s got his baby, that’s good enough for him… and more blues holiday favorites.

A Big Band Christmas

Sun Dec 22 at 1pm
Make the holidays merry and bright with this swinging Yuletide concert by the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.  The orchestra's annual Christmas concert features a bounty of seasonal favorites, done in sparkling big band arrangements including The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Let It Snow, Sleigh Ride and The Christmas Song, plus a dash of KC blues in the Santa Claus Blues, along with Donny Hathaway's This Time of Year.
 

Jazz Piano Christmas
Fri Dec 20 at 10pm and Sun Dec 22 at 3pm
NPR Music brings you another great concert from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  Andy Bey, Stanley Cowell, Sullivan Fortner and Michele Rosewoman perform their favorite holiday songs.

Sun Dec 22 at 10pm
Peace on Earth: A Holiday Folk Tour with Judy Collins

Folk-singing legend Judy Collins hosts this program featuring musical takes on the holiday season from folk artists from across the country. The music includes many new originals -- some thoughtful, some whimsical - along with a few holiday favorites.

Night Studio Christmas
Mon Dec 23 at 10pm

Sit back a relax with this hour of jazz renditions of music for the season from the Public Radio 90 music library. We’ll hear from The Vince Guaraldi Trio (think Charlie Brown), Diana Krall, Louis Armstrong, and more.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Christmas Special
Tue Dec 24 at 10pm and Fri Dec 27 at 3pm

Wynton Marsalis leads an all-star lineup through a Yuletide romp. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is joined by vocalists René Marie and Gregory Porter for a New Orleans style holiday treatment of I'll Be Home for Christmas, Winter Wonderland, and We Three Kings.

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Christmas Special
Sun Dec 22 at 2pm

Traditional, Folk & Eclectic

Folk Alley Christmas  part I
Wed Dec 25 at 3pm
Host Matt Watroba celebrates the season with a two-part Folk Alley program featuring Christmas and holiday music.
Part one features music by Tracy Thorn, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, Good Lovelies, Mary Chapin Carpenters; and an exclusive Folk Alley performance by Ellis Paul.

Folk Alley Christmas part II
Thur Dec 26 at 3pm

Part two of Folk Alley Christmas with host Matt Watroba features music by John Prine, Shawn Colvin, Martin Sexton, Christine Lavin, Tim O'Brien, Tom Lehrer, and more.

New! All Songs Considered for the Holidays
Wed Dec 25 at 4pm
It's the fifth edition of the 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.  Hear renditions of great holiday music you'll never hear at the mall.

Tent Show Radio: A Blue Canvas Christmas
Tue Dec 24 at 3pm

This live performance from Lake Superior’s Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield Wisconsin is hosted by best-selling author, humorist and pig farmer, Michael Perry and features the Blue Canvas Orchestra's Blue Canvas Christmas show.

A Holiday Music Tour with Judy Collins
Sun Dec 29 at 10pm
Singing legend Judy Collins headlines this holiday special featuring musicians from around the country.  Performing original songs along with a few holiday favorites, Collins and her guests reflect on the season and tell the stories behind their music. Featured artists include Collins herself, Trout Fishing in America, Steve Earle, Jesse Colin Young, The Blind Boys of Alabama with Tom Waits, Tish Hinojosa, Bill Miller, Peter Case, and Lowen + Navarro. Ian Anderson of Jehro Tull makes a guest appearance from London.

Spoken Word & Stories

Holiday Readings and Remembrances
Weekdays at 9:35am

Once again this year Public Radio 90 listeners share their favorite and most heartwarming holiday memories and stories.  Gather around the fire and drift into new stories, old favorites and even a little bit of song.

A Christmas Carol with Jonathon Winters
Fri Dec 20 at 10 am
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. 

Solstice Season
Fri Dec 20 at 3pm

As they say in China: "Better to light a candle than to curse the Darkness"   This folktale celebrates the dark stretch of the year with musical customs meant to brighten winter's darkest hours.  It is truly a 'festival of light', with seasonal comforts and celebration from ancient to modern world traditions.

New Years’

Capitol Steps New Year's Eve Special
Tue Dec 31 at 3pm and Wed Jan 1 at 10am

Help us roast 2013 to a crisp with The Capitol Steps and their annual year-in-review awards ceremony called "Politics Takes a Holiday! The Capitol Steps began when some staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party.  The groups’ original plan was to satirize the very people and places that employed them.  Their first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole Congress they couldn't find three wise men or a virgin. So, they decided to dig into the headlines of the day, and they created song parodies & skits which conveyed a special brand of satirical humor.  

Toast of the Nation
Tue Dec 31 beginning at 8pm to 5am Wed Jan 1st
An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve, Toast of the Nation is perfect for the occasion. It's jazz that you can party to, all night from coast to coast, with countdowns to midnight in all four continental time zones.  Toast of the Nation 2013-14 will make New Year's Eve stops in Boston, Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Denver and the Monterey Jazz Festival! Spirited, improvised, grooving and swinging, each segment is a stop in a sequence of celebrations and contributing something new to the musical feast.

New Year's Day from Vienna
Wed Jan 1 at 11am and 8pm
Get ready to pop the New Year's Day champagne! The Vienna Philharmonic presents its annual salute to the waltz on New Year's Day 2014.  Daniel Barenboim will guest conduct the annual New Year's concert, honoring his 25 years of musical collaboration with the orchestra, and his efforts to bring peace to the world through music.  Hear the hit tunes of the Strauss family and others -- polkas, gallops and waltzes, live from the Musikverein, on New Year's Day from Vienna. -- a festive way to start off the New Year.