WHYY-FM Special Programming

Christmas | Hanukkah | Kwanza | New Year's Eve/Day

2009 Third Coast Broadcast

Part 1: Thursday, November 26th, at 1pm - 2pm
Part 2: Friday, November 27th, at 1pm - 2pm

This fall, the Third Coast International Audio Festival brings the best new documentaries produced worldwide to U.S. airwaves in a special two-hour program, "2009 Third Coast Broadcast." Hosted by award-winning writer, producer and humorist Gwen Macsai, the featured documentaries, all winners of the ninth annual TC / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition, prove just how powerful radio can be. Innovative and insightful, the stories engage, provoke, entertain and transport listeners, proving that all one needs to discover new worlds is a little box and an antenna.

Christmas

A Car Talk Christmas Carol Redux

Saturday, December 19th, at 10am - 11am

A refreshed and updated version of the holiday classic. Starring Tom and Ray Magliozzi and a stellar cast of public radio personalities including Robert Siegel as Bob Cratchit. From NPR and WBUR.

A Paul Winter Solstice Concert

Sunday, December 20th, at 10pm - 12m

The holiday tradition continues with Paul Winter's Winter Solstice Celebration. A dynamic musical celebration in the extraordinary acoustics of the world's largest Gothic cathedral - New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine - highlight the music of the Winter Consort with Gospel singer Theresa Thomason, Brazilian singer/guitarist Renato Braz, and woodwind master Paul McCandless. John Schaefer hosts the production from Living Music and Murray Street.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Thursday, December 24th, at 10am - 12noon

Hosted by Michael Barone, this is a live, 90-minute 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.

Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites

Thursday, December 24th, at 1pm - 2pm
and Thursday, December 24th, at 10pm - 11pm

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.

Leroy Anderson Christmas Special

Thursday, December 24th, at 11pm - 12m

This one-hour program contains 80% music of classic Christmas arrangements and original music by Leroy Anderson. It is hosted by conductor Leonard Slatkin and the composer's son Kurt Anderson, and features recorded performances of Leroy Anderson's Christmas Music with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Leroy Anderson conducting his "Pops" Concert Orchestra. Listeners will also hear Leroy Anderson talking about how he wrote some of his famous Christmas music and what Christmas means to him.

Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers

Friday, December 25th, at 1pm - 2pm

An annual favorite, "Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers" is a concert of traditional and contemporary holiday music performed by the renowned choral group. This year, the famed ensemble celebrates Christmas on Logan Square with a program of 20th-century music. Host Ed Cunningham shares new seasonal sounds and cherished traditional favorites - from the beautiful candlelight procession to the spirited singing of carols with the audience. The hour-long concert is made complete by the choir's delightful arrangements of traditional hymns and carols.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah Lights 2009

Thursday, December 10th, at 10pm - 11pm

A perennial NPR favorite for nearly two decades, acclaimed authors explore Hanukkah stories written expressly for Hanukkah Lights. This year's show features brand new stories by Danit Brown, Michael Blumenthal and Rachel Shukert. Hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.

Happy Joyous Hannukah

Monday, December 14th, at 10pm - 11pm

Features a concert from NYC-based 2006 Grammy-award-winning band, the Klezmatics. Hosted by Murray Horwitz.

Chanukah in Story and Song

Wednesday, December 16th, at 10pm - 11pm

Narrated by Leonard Nimoy and sung by the acclaimed vocal sextet The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, "Chanukah in Story and Song" is a unique holiday program created especially for public radio listeners.

This delightfully engaging program presents 25 eclectic selections, from the Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews and Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe to modern Israeli tunes and the ensemble's original version of "I Have a Little Dreydle."

The ensemble performs a cappella as well as with instrumental accompaniment. The narration, written by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik, sheds new light on the holiday's customs and rituals. Listeners of all ages will hum the tunes after enjoying this wonderful program.

Kwanza

A Season's Griot 2009

Saturday, December 26th, at 11pm - 12m

"A Season's Griot" is public radio's only nationally syndicated Kwanzaa program. Hosted for the last 22 years by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, this annual one-hour special captures the tales and traditions of African-American and African peoples.

This year's program features stories told to, for and about children. With folktale, song and poetry, Wilson and friends put the spotlight on youth: love for them, responsibility to them, and ways adults can sometimes not see them. The program presents traditional and original works of poetry, music and prose that speak to the institution of family.

New Year's Eve

Toast of the Nation

LIVE Thursday, December 31st, at 10pm - 1am

Toast of the Nation features live music all night on New Year's Eve - a holiday special for your party.

Raise a glass with listeners coast to coast and revelers at five live-jazz locations across the continent. After midnights in New York and the Twin Cities, our West Coast artists give a Happy New Year shout-out to Mountain Timers. Then an hour later it's "Auld Lang Syne" (or something hipper) in Pacific Time, with a "here's to Alaska and Hawaii" in advance of their midnight hours.