WGUC 90.9 FM | WGUC Holiday Programs

WGUC Holiday Programming
The holiday season is celebrated in music with a variety of specials on 90.9 WGUC. Here’s the line-up:

Looking for even more wonderful holiday specials?
Check the holiday schedule for 91.7 WVXU

	Chanukah in Words and Music Thursday, December 10, 7:00 PM The Spirit of Chanukah, a holiday joyous at freedom’s triumph and spiritual rededication, is richly reflected in the folk melodies and songs from countries across the globe where Jews have lived and worshipped for centuries. Naomi Lewin hosts this musical celebration.
	A Mexican Baroque Christmas with the Rose Ensemble Sunday, December 13, 9:00 PM This holiday program features over two centuries of festive Christmas dances and songs from the great cathedrals of Puebla and Mexico City. Enjoy a vibrant retelling of the Christmas story with some ancient music that sounds fresh and new today. The colorful music of 17th century Mexico is the centerpiece of this gorgeous and engaging Christmas special by the internationally-acclaimed Rose Ensemble.
	Welcome Christmas! Sunday, December 20, 7:30 PM This lively musical program is a perennial broadcast favorite featuring the Minneapolis-based ensemble, VocalEssence. Recognized internationally as one of America’s premier choral arts organizations, VocalEssence is led by Philip Brunelle.
	A Harpist's Christmas Sunday, December 20, 9:00 PM America's premier harpist, Yolanda Kondonassis, celebrates the season with treasures of Christmas music for the harp. Kondonassis specially created this program, spotlighting her heavenly instrument both as a soloist as well as with the accompaniment of Joshua Smith on flute and Cynthia Phelps on viola.
	Handel’s Messiah Monday, December 21, 6:00 PM The Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, with Neville Marriner conducting, presents the complete performance of this holiday masterpiece.
	St. Olaf Christmas Festival Tuesday, December 22, 6:00 PM This service in song and word has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The St. Olaf College 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.
	SymphonyCast: J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Cantatas 1-3) Tuesday, December 22, 8:00 PM Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra; Roderich Kreile, conductor; Susanna Pütters, soprano Elisabeth Wilke, mezzo-soprano; Hans-Jörg Mammel, tenor Klaus Mertens, bass; Dresdner Kreuzchor
	Echoes of Christmas Wednesday, December 23, 6:00 PM For more than 30 years, The Dale Warland Singers provided magical performances to listeners across the country, gaining acclaim as America's premier choir. The ensemble's signature holiday concert—beloved by public radio listeners nationwide—was the annual Echoes of Christmas program. Drawing upon the group's archive of live performances, Dale Warland together with host Brian Newhouse to create a very special musical treat: a collection of the best and most moving choral classics celebrating Christmas.
	Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble Holiday Concert Wednesday, December 23, 7:00 PM VAE’s holiday tradition continues with music inspired by the nativity including John Tavener’s Mother and Child—a work that evolves from quiet introspection to thunderous celebration with full organ and Hindu Temple gong—and Rautavaara’s mystical Canticum Mariae virginis,with gorgeous chants piercing mystical textures.
	A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - LIVE Thursday, December 24, 10:00 AM A live, 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.
	Chanticleer Christmas Thursday, December 24, 6:00 PM America's finest male chorus celebrates the mystery and wonder of Christmas with traditional and best-loved Christmas songs from Gregorian chant to Gospel. The San Francisco-based chorus is recognized worldwide for its brilliant technique and musicality.
	Cantus: All is Calm Friday, December 25, 5:00 PM Presenting an uplifting musical drama about the surprising 1914 World War I Christmas truce, Cantus—one of America's most accomplished male choirs—and Theater Latté Da have created a profoundly moving new work of musical radio theater. Using soldiers' diary entries and beautiful new arrangements of Christmas favorites, All is Calm tells both sides of the story as men who had been trying to kill each other in the fields of France spontaneously put down their guns, walked across no-man's land and sang together.
	A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols: Encore Presentation Friday, December 25, 6:00 PM
	New Year's Day from Vienna 2010 Friday, January 1, 11:00 AM Enjoy a sparkling celebration, live from the Golden Hall at the Musikverein in Vienna. The Vienna Philharmonic presents its annual New Year’s Day from Vienna, including favorite waltzes and polkas, and so much more.

WVXU Holiday Programming
The holiday season is celebrated by family and friends with great music and fascinating stories. 91.7 WVXU will also celebrate that way with many specials during the month of December.

	Hanukkah Lights Thursday, December 10 at 7 pm 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.
	Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs Sunday, December 20, at 2 pm 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. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark mixture of spirituals and carols.
	Around Cincinnati Christmas Sunday, December 20, at 7 pm With the help of some of the area’s outstanding musicians and performers, past and present, host Lee Hay provides a great Cincinnati holiday soundtrack. Plus, several special Christmas readings, including Gary Burbank reciting “T'was the Night Before Christmas.”
	Jazz with OT Christmas Sunday, December 20, at 9 pm A special re-broadcast of a classic Christmas version of Jazz with OT.
	A Paul Winter Solstice Concert Monday, December 21 at 8 pm 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.
	When Radio Was: A Christmas Carol Thursday, December 24, at 9 pm Don't miss our special holiday edition of When Radio Was, featuring a classic reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol by Sir Lawrence Olivier.
	An Echoes Christmas Thursday, December 24, at 10 pm Celebrate the evening with a different kind of Christmas music.
	Around Cincinnati Christmas: Encore Presentation Friday, December 25, at 7 pm
	An Echoes Christmas: Encore Presentation Friday, December 25, at 10 pm
	Toast of the Nation Thursday, December 31 at 8 pm 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. Anat Cohen at Berklee Performance Center in Boston In 2009, ASCAP named Anat to the Jazz Wall of Fame, and the Jazz Journalists Association cited her as Clarinetist of the Year. Anat follows her muse from "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" and "Jitterbug Waltz" to Cuba, Argentina and Brazil. John Pizzarelli’s "Dear Mr. Sinatra" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC Guitarist, singer and radio host Pizzarelli used to open for Frank and remembers that he "would appear in the wings during our final number, swinging and clapping and smiling. He would come onstage and cheer for us." We’ll cheer John and his eight-piece band playing songs that were written for Sinatra and more. The Bad Plus at the Village Vanguard in New York Power jazz with tremendous chops meets indie rock in the acoustic trio of Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson and David King. The outcome can be very beautiful, also very funny. This is The Bad Plus’s second New Year’s Eve at the legendary club.