91FM Holiday Specials
Saturday, December 14
A Car Talk Christmas Carol
10 - 11 a.m.
Tom and Ray and a band of public radio personalities are back again with an encore broadcast of this special holiday fundraiser.
Friday, December 20
A Car Talk Christmas Carol
2 - 3 p.m.
Tom and Ray and a band of public radio personalities are back again with an encore broadcast of this special holiday fundraiser.
Saturday, December 21
Everybody Under the Sun: A World Music Winter Solstice Celebration from Paul Winter
10 p.m. - 12 a.m.
The musical gems from from 22 years of Paul Winter's annual Solstice Celebrations, set in the magnificent acoustics of the world's largest Gothic cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine -- an NYC and NPR holiday tradition. The retrospective brings many of Paul's special guests over the years, including Russia's Pokrovsky Ensemble, folk musicians Pete Seeger and Gordon Bok, Celtic bagpiper Davy Spillane, the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, and Brazilian jazz singer Luciana Souza. Co-hosted by Pete Fornatale and John Schaefer.
Sunday, December 22
A Holiday Folk Tour with Judy Collins
1 - 2 p.m.
Judy Collins hosts an all-new hour-long tour around the nation featuring musical takes on the holiday season from folk artists. The music includes many new originals -- some thoughtful, some tongue-in-cheek -- along with a number of holiday favorites. Along the way, many of the artists reflect on the holidays and tell the stories behind their songs.
The Downtown Messiah
2 - 4 p.m.
Georg Frideric Handel's monumental work is a long-time classic, performed thousands of times the world over each December.
Toss this tradition into the melting pot of Greenwich Village's varied musical heritage of folk, jazz, rock, gospel, blues, and bluegrass, add orchestra accompaniment and a cappella choral and solo seasonings, and you get The Downtown Messiah -- a hip, genre-stretching, New York version of Handel's holiday treasure.
WFUV/New York presents The Downtown Messiah, a two-hour special hosted by Rita Houston and recorded live at The Bottom Line, the legendary music club in the heart of the Village.
The Downtown Messiah was conceived by songwriter/performer Richard Barone, denizen of the downtown New York music scene and the event's director, who describes it as an effort to "reinterpret Handel's masterwork through respectful modernization." Writing in The New York Times, critic Ann Powers said Barone "has done so less by forcing in cutting-edge sounds than by letting his vibrant cast show off its humanity through this treasured work."
Barone leads a top-notch orchestra and chorus plus fellow soloists, including Jane Siberry, Don Byron, Terre Roche, David Johansen, Tony Trischka, The Kennedys, and others in the only production of The Messiah that features several styles of music, while retaining the continuity intended by its composer.
You're sure to embrace The Downtown Messiah as a new and exciting musical treat worthy of becoming part your holiday celebrations.
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn
6 - 7 p.m.
For thousands of years, people created and observed an intricate web of rituals around the winter Solstice, designed to drive away the dark and hasten the coming of spring. Early Christians adopted many of these rituals, and the feast of Christmas was born.
Celtic countries are steeped in traditions of Solstice and Christmas. Many of the most familiar seasonal songs trace their origins to Ireland and England.
In A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, host Brian O'Donovan presents a very personal collection -- and celebration -- of Christmas songs, stories, and poems from the Celtic world. Traditional and contemporary sounds blend in fascinating ways, both illuminating and paying tribute to the holidays.
A Joyous Celebration of Christmas
7 - 8 p.m.
The Archdiocesan Boy Choir of Philadelphia, one of the areas musical gems, celebrates the Christmas season in concert, recorded live in December 2001. Featuring over 80 boys ranging in age from 8 to 14, the choir performs 16 traditional Christmas carols and songs. The Archdiocesan Boy Choir has performed throughout the Philadelphia area, in Europe and Canada and has performed for Pope John Paul II.
Sunday Showcase
8 - 10 p.m.
The Philadelphia Orchestra presents Handel's Messiah
Monday, December 23
Crazy College Christmas
11 p.m. - 12 a.m.
George Stewart brings the best in odd, silly holiday songs.
Tuesday, December 24
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Public radio audiences have thrilled to the annual broadcast of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols for over two decades. This year will be no exception.
The worship service is based on a liturgy created in 1918 by the then-new dean of King's Chapel. The 34-year-old Eric Milner-White wanted to try something innovative, something that went beyond the Church of England' s standard liturgy. So, he wove together scripture and song, called on readers of various ages from school and town, and devised this truly magical progression that carries participants, congregants, and listeners from prophecy to fulfillment, from an Old Testament foretelling to a birthday celebration.
Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers
8 - 9 p.m.
David Hayes conducts the Philadelphia Singers in this annual Christmas concert. Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers was recorded in the resonant, atmospheric setting of St. Clement's Church near Logan Square in Philadelphia. It celebrates the holiday with hymns, traditional carols, and music by Benjamin Britten, Morten Lauridsen, and Rimsky-Korsakov. The broadcast is beautifully crowned by John Rutter's Gloria.
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
9 - 10:30 p.m.
Public radio audiences have thrilled to the annual broadcast of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols for over two decades. This year will be no exception.
The worship service is based on a liturgy created in 1918 by the then-new dean of King's Chapel. The 34-year-old Eric Milner-White wanted to try something innovative, something that went beyond the Church of England' s standard liturgy. So, he wove together scripture and song, called on readers of various ages from school and town, and devised this truly magical progression that carries participants, congregants, and listeners from prophecy to fulfillment, from an Old Testament foretelling to a birthday celebration.
Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol
11 - 12 a.m.
A public radio tradition. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens' holiday classic, using a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations. Also featuring Mimi Kennedy.
Wednesday, December 25
Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol
9 - 10 a.m.
A public radio tradition. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens' holiday classic, using a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations. Also featuring Mimi Kennedy.
The Downtown Messiah
10 a.m. - Noon
Georg Frideric Handel's monumental work is a long-time classic, performed thousands of times the world over each December.
Toss this tradition into the melting pot of Greenwich Village's varied musical heritage of folk, jazz, rock, gospel, blues, and bluegrass, add orchestra accompaniment and a cappella choral and solo seasonings, and you get The Downtown Messiah -- a hip, genre-stretching, New York version of Handel's holiday treasure.
WFUV/New York presents The Downtown Messiah, a two-hour special hosted by Rita Houston and recorded live at The Bottom Line, the legendary music club in the heart of the Village.
The Downtown Messiah was conceived by songwriter/performer Richard Barone, denizen of the downtown New York music scene and the event's director, who describes it as an effort to "reinterpret Handel's masterwork through respectful modernization." Writing in The New York Times, critic Ann Powers said Barone "has done so less by forcing in cutting-edge sounds than by letting his vibrant cast show off its humanity through this treasured work."
Barone leads a top-notch orchestra and chorus plus fellow soloists, including Jane Siberry, Don Byron, Terre Roche, David Johansen, Tony Trischka, The Kennedys, and others in the only production of The Messiah that features several styles of music, while retaining the continuity intended by its composer.
You're sure to embrace The Downtown Messiah as a new and exciting musical treat worthy of becoming part your holiday celebrations.
A Winter's Night with Ensemble Galilei
Noon - 1 p.m.
A night of Celtic and classical favorites by Ensemble Galilei with special guest, piper Kierean O'Hare. Hosted by Bonnie Grice.
Christmas Around the Country 2002
1 - 2 p.m.
NPR's Performance Today continues its annual holiday tradition, presenting the best concert performances coast-to-coast.
Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers
2 - 3 p.m.
David Hayes conducts the Philadelphia Singers in this annual Christmas concert. Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers was recorded in the resonant, atmospheric setting of St. Clement's Church near Logan Square in Philadelphia. It celebrates the holiday with hymns, traditional carols, and music by Benjamin Britten, Morten Lauridsen, and Rimsky-Korsakov. The broadcast is beautifully crowned by John Rutter's Gloria.
Too Hot to Handel
8 - 10 p.m.
Premiere! Marin Alsop and the Concordia Orchestra of NY in their acclaimed jazz/gospel reinterpretation of Handel's Messiah. Featuring Tony-winning soprano Lillias White, as well as Vivian Cherry, Thomas Young, and the Morgan State University Choir. Directed by Dr. Nathan Carter. Hosted by Tavis Smiley.
Jazz Piano Christmas 13
10 - 11 p.m.
New! Jazz Piano Christmas 13 - In Concert at the Kennedy Center. Another popular NPR holiday classic - this time, recorded live in concert for the very first time. Dr. Billy Taylor returns to the airwaves for an added holiday bonus.
Jazz Piano Christmas 11
11 - 12 a.m.
Join host Dianne Reeves for an encore broadcast of this 2000 special of Christmas classics. Includes performances by Fred Hersch, Marc Cary, Michael Wolff, Bob Janes, Patricia Barber, and Diane Schuur.
Thursday, December 26
Season's Griot 2002
9 - 10 p.m.
Season's Griot 2002 features two elder storytellers who, by many accounts, are among the best in the world -- Jackie Torrence, a.k.a. The Story Lady, and Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, better known as Brother Blue.
Jackie Torrence is a towering figure in the resurgence of the ancient art form of storytelling. She learned her craft from her grandfather, aunts, and uncles deep in the hills of rural North Carolina. She began her career as a librarian who one day was asked to sit in for the regular storyteller. On that day, a new career took flight and The Story Lady was born. With several books, tapes, and CDs to her credit, Torrence now performs at major halls and festivals worldwide, delighting listeners of all ages and ethnic groups. She is included in I Dream a World, Brian Lanker's celebrated photo essay on African American women who changed America.
Brother Blue is that rare kind of artist who comes along once in a life time. Like a Duke Ellington melody or Romare Bearden painting, he fires the imagination, sliding in, out, and around a story to make it sing, swing, and finger pop. For the past 30 years, Brother Blue has mesmerized audiences wherever there was a listening ear, from street corners to classrooms, from prisons to concert halls. The official storyteller of Boston and Cambridge, MA, and an honors graduate from Yale and Harvard, he's as comfortable with the characters of Chaucer and Shakespeare as he is those of Langston Hughes, James Brown, and Naughty by Nature. Brother Blue says, "I speak my stories from the middle of the middle of me to the middle of the middle of you."
Join Season's Griot 2002 for another riveting chapter from the book of African American storytelling, as elders Jackie Torrence and Brother Blue share their artistry and wish all who will hear love, peace, and happiness.
Tuesday, December 31
Toast of the Nation Welcomes 2003
8 p.m. - 5 a.m.
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