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Holiday Radio Programming

WUFT 89.1 / 90.1 Holiday Specials (Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice and Kwanzaa)

SATURDAY, Dec. 12:

8 p.m.        Hanukkah Lights 2020
A perennial NPR favorite, this special features all new Hanukkah stories written by Lynne Bronstein, R.L. Maizes, Susan J. Gordon, Jennifer Lang, and Kate Schmier. Read by hosts Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.

9 p.m.       Candles Burning Brightly®
MPR classical music host Mindy Ratner hosts this 2017 encore celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. "Candles Burning Brightly" explores the meaning and traditions of Chanukah, including holiday foods and Sephardic and Ashkenazi music.

SUNDAY, DEC. 13:

6 p.m.       Itzhak Perlman's Chanukah Party Join the superstar violinist as he tells the story of the Jewish festival of lights, and shares his favorite recordings for the holiday – some serious, some silly.

7 p.m.      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.

THURSDAY, Dec. 24:

9 p.m.     Jonathan Winters’ A Christmas Carol Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of this holiday classic, using a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations.

10 p.m.   Christmas with Morehourse and Spelman Glee Clubs 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.

11 p.m.    An AfroBlue Christmas The Howard University's premier vocal jazz ensemble delights with fresh, thoughtful arrangements of Christmas favorites, from a rollicking "Angels We Have Heard On High" to a sublime, weighty "Silent Night." Also on the bill were a few lesser-known holiday numbers, such as director Connaitre Miller's original piece "That Is Love," which offers a meditation on the meaning of the holiday season.

12 a.m. Christmas Memories with Dee Alexander In this special, Dee shares songs that inspire celebration and spark nostalgia for the holiday, spinning classics like Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song and Mahalia Jackson’s No Room at the Inn. With her impeccable selections and inviting hosting style, this special is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!

FRIDAY, Dec. 25:

1 a.m.   A Paul Winter Solstice Celebrate the Return of the Sun - and the Warming of the heart with Paul Winter’s Annual Winter Solstice Celebration. On the darkest night of the year, we head back to New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine to hear The Paul Winter Consort and the glorious Cathedral Pipe Organ.

3 a.m.   Handel’s MESSIAH with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Stand up and sing along as Music Director Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and soloists in Handel’s Messiah.
8 p.m.   Tinsel Tales 3 In keeping with a well-loved NPR holiday tradition, Lynn Neary hosts a collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places. Audie Cornish, Ken Harbaugh, Nina Totenberg and other voices from NPR's past and present tell stories of the season in this hour-long special.

9 p.m.   Tinsel Tales 4 Host Lynn Neary revists interviews with musicians about their Christmas albums.

10 p.m.  All Songs Considered for the Holidays Special guests for this year's holiday party  include Taylor Swift, Jenny Lewis, Tarriona "Tank" Ball, Lucy Dacus and more.

11 p.m.  Big Tiny Desk Concert Holiday Special from NPR 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.

12 a.m. Jazz Night in America Holiday Celebration Jazz Night in America is the perfect complement of swinging holiday classics featuring The Sherman Irby Sextet recorded live at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Christian McBride hosts.

2 a.m.   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.

SATURDAY, DEC. 26:

9 p.m.   A Season’s Griot
Hosted for 25 years by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, this annual special captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples. The show’s poet laureate, Beverly Burnette, and other members of the Season’s Griot family return with familiar and favorite elements of Griot.

THURSDAY, DEC. 31:

11 p.m. NPR's Toast of the Nation 2020 (until 5 a.m.)
An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s, Toast of the Nation is the perfect audio complement for the occasion. It's festive jazz you can party to, all night long. This year we are featuring some of the best jazz collectives playing today. We'll hear the Baltimore Collective recorded live at The Keystone Korner, The Michael Leonhart Orchestra at The Jazz Standard, The SFJAZZ Collective in San Francisco and The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York City.

WUFT Classic 89.1-2 HD2, 102.7 FM in Gainesville, 88.5 FM

THURSDAY, Dec. 10

5 p.m.      Chanukkah in Story and Song - sung by The Western Wind, narrated by Leonard Nimoy The acclaimed vocal sextet and the renowned actor present 25 eclectic selections, from the Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews and Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe to modern Israeli tunes and their original version of “I Have a Little Dreydle.” The singers sing a cappella and are also joined by instruments including violin, accordion, bass and guitar. The narration written by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik sheds light on the holiday customs and rituals.

FRIDAY, Dec. 11:

5 p.m.      Hanukah Around the Globe
A journey into the rich and varied melodic traditions of countries where Jews have lived and worshiped for centuries, including music from Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Central Asia ...and Africa!

SATURDAY, Dec. 12:

8 p.m.        Hanukkah Lights 2020
A perennial NPR favorite, this special features all new Hanukkah stories written by Lynne Bronstein, R.L. Maizes, Susan J. Gordon, Jennifer Lang, and Kate Schmier. Read by hosts Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.

9 p.m.       Candles Burning Brightly®
MPR classical music host Mindy Ratner hosts this 2017 encore celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. "Candles Burning Brightly" explores the meaning and traditions of Chanukah, including holiday foods and Sephardic and Ashkenazi music.

SUNDAY, DEC. 13:

6 p.m.       Itzhak Perlman's Chanukah Party Join the superstar violinist as he tells the story of the Jewish festival of lights, and shares his favorite recordings for the holiday – some serious, some silly.

7 p.m.      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.

THURSDAY, Dec. 24:

10 a.m.   A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols 2020 (Live) Audiences will share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal 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, the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.

1 p.m.       Saint Olaf Christmas Festival 2020 This service in song and word has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations, and includes hymns, carols, choral works, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs, and the St. Olaf Orchestra from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Valerie Kahler hosts.       
2 p.m.      A Chanticleer Christmas Celebrate the season with song! Brian Newhouse hosts this one-hour program of a cappella holiday favorites, new and old, presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man choral ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices."
3 p.m.    Welcome Christmas This perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups. John Birge hosts an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of two carols from the annual Christmas Carol Contest.
                      
8 p.m      New York Philharmonic Jukebox Winter Holidays Sacred and secular music to honor the winter solstice and year-end holidays.
10 p.m.    Winter Holidays Around the World with Bill McLaughlin Winter holidays are celebrated around the world, and their music is wonderful to hear, regardless of which tradition you observe. Bill’s spirited selection starts in the 12th century with Nova Stella, medieval Italian Christmas music from Saint Francis of Assisi’s staging of the nativity; jazz pianist Dave Brubeck’s classical composition La Fiesta de la Posada, evoking a Mexican Christmas celebration; and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols. We will enjoy this time of year in Paris with music from Debussy, and then travel to Polynesia for a traditional hymn, Anau Oia Ea. And then ending with an excerpt from Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors from the original television production.

FRIDAY, Dec. 25:  

1 p.m.     Messiah from Trinity Church, New York Handel’s “Messiah” performed by The Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Julian Wachner.
8 p.m.      Concierto Concierto presents classical music in English and in Spanish. Music by Spanish and Latin American composers is alternated with classical favorites performed by Hispanic artists.
                                           
10 p.m.   The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips hosts this hour-long special devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music.

SATURDAY, Dec. 26:

10 p.m.   Hollywood Holidays Join Lynne Warfel, host of APM’s Saturday Cinema and Flicks in Five, for a festive one-hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood's most cherished films inspired by Dickens’ classic character, Ebenezer Scrooge.

FRIDAY, Jan. 1:

11 a.m.    New Year's Concert 2021 with Riccardo Muti This year's concert will mark the 6th time that Riccardo Muti, whose close musical partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic has now extended nearly 50 years, conducts this prestigious concert event. The 2021 New Year's Concert will be broadcast in over 90 countries and followed by millions of television viewers around the world.