Celebrate the festive season with WHRO-FM's curated selection of holiday programming, offering something for everyone to enjoy. From timeless carols and cherished traditions to modern takes and global celebrations, our schedule is packed with classical music that capture the joy and spirit of the season.
Highlights include enchanting choral performances, classical masterpieces, and programs that explore diverse cultural holidays like Chanukah and Kwanzaa.
Whether you're hosting gatherings or savoring quiet moments, tune in to experience the magic of the holidays. Explore the full lineup to plan your festive listening.
Tuesday, December 17:
- Noon – Christmas with Madrigalia (WXXI)
Celebrate the excitement and joy of the holiday season with the chamber choir Madrigalia! This program is full of traditional carols and anthems from the around the world in honor of the Winter Solstice, Chanukah, Christmas, and the New Year.
- 9 PM – Carols, Customs and Candlelight: a Celtic Christmas Celebration (APM)
The Celtic lands of Northwestern Europe have an especially rich musical heritage, and many Christmas songs and carols come from places like Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and other Celtic nations. Listen as host Andrea Blain explores music and customs that have roots in ancient winter celebrations and traditional Christmas festivals.
Wednesday, December 18:
- Noon – Carols as Home with the Imani Winds (APM)
Carols as Home features a modern take on classic Christmas carols, hosted by Imani Winds founding oboist, Toyin Spellman-Diaz. Toyin coaxes intimate stories of Christmas memories from the members of the ensemble, and discusses why these classic carols are still essential today. You’ll hear many of your favorite carols updated with the ensemble’s own imaginative take.
- 9 PM – A Local Touch: Holiday Edition
Raymond Jones presents a rich variety of holiday music with a Virginia connection, featuring the 2024 Service of Advent Lessons and Carols from Christ and St. Luke’s Church in Norfolk.
Thursday, December 19:
- Noon – Welcome Christmas! (APM)
Welcome Christmas is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world's premier choral ensembles. Join host Bonnie North for an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of three beloved Latvian carols by composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.
- 9 PM – All is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas (APM)
All is Bright, with host Lynne Warfel, offers an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene. Featured artists include Cantus, Chanticleer, Cambridge Singers, Bryn Terfel, Emma Kirkby, Jessye Norman, and a variety of choirs.
Friday, December 20:
- Noon – Your Classical Christmas Favorites (APM)
Join hosts Tom Crann and Valerie Kahler as they count down the top Christmas songs as voted by listeners across the country!
- 9-11 PM – The Christmas Revels
A celebration of the winter holidays – Advent, Chanukah, the Solstice, Christmas, Dongzhi, New Year’s and Twelfth Night/Epiphany – featuring traditional carols, wassails, hymns, ballads, children’s game-songs, and folk dance tunes excerpted from live Christmas Revels stage productions presented around the country.
Saturday, December 21: Winter Solstice
- 6 AM – Harmonia: Christmas Joy and Winter Wonder
Celebrate the Christmas season with music that offers us warmth and light in the cold and dark of winter, focusing on pieces that portray the joy and wonder of new birth.
- 7 AM-Noon – Holiday Car Tunes
- 1-3 PM – The Metropolitan Opera’s holiday presentation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute
The Met’s Saturday matinee radio broadcasts continue with a treat for the holiday season: Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This classic operatic fairy tale, sung in English, is ideal for listeners of all ages.
- 3-6 PM – Holiday Intermezzo
- 8-11 PM – This Just In: Holiday New Releases
- 11 PM – Harmonia: Christmas Joy and Winter Wonder
Sunday, December 22:
- 7 AM-Noon – Holiday Musical Brunch
- Noon – With Heart and Voice: Christmas Special
- 3 PM – From the Parlor: Christmas Edition
- 4-7 PM – Holiday Sunday Classics
- 7 PM – Classical Guitar Alive: Christmas Music of Past and Present
- 8-10 PM – Pipedreams: Holiday Delights
- 10 PM-Midnight – Holiday Evening Classics
Monday, December 23:
- Noon – Three Tales of Christmas with Cantus (APM)
The vocal ensemble Cantus weaves together three holiday stories with time-honored carols and new classics. Blending narration and song, the program features Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and Christine Lê’s “The Hawai’i Snowman,” alongside Mark Twain’s “A Letter from Santa Claus,” offering an opportunity to reflect on the meaning and joy of the holiday season.
- 9 PM – Gaudete! Early Music for the Christmas Season (WFMT)
Join Sara Schneider, producer and host of Early Music Now, for joyful and contemplative sounds of the season. We’ll hear Byzantine chant by Kassiani and selections from “Missa Puer natus est nobis” by Thomas Tallis, plus hymns and motets from Spain, Germany, and France. Our performers include The Cardinall’s Musick, Theatre of Voices, Cappella Romana, and Oltremontano.
Tuesday, December 24: Christmas Eve
- 5-10 AM – Holiday Morning Classics
- 10 AM-Noon – A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Live Broadcast)
An annual and beloved Christmas tradition, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is an extraordinary and memorable service of word and music from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England. Share in this live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal music, presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue.
- Noon-3 PM – Holiday Midday Classics
- 3-4 PM – Your Classical Christmas Favorites (APM)
- 4-6 PM – Holiday Afternoon Classics
- 6 PM – Christmas with Madrigalia (WXXI)
- 7-9 PM – St. Olaf Christmas Festival: Celebrating 150 Years of St. Olaf College (APM)
For one and a half centuries, St. Olaf has been a hub of connections, knowledge, and growth. And for more than a century, the St. Olaf Christmas Festival has been a cherished part of that history. Join us as we celebrate their legacy.
- 9 PM-Midnight – Christmas Eve Classics
Wednesday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day
As always, WHRO-FM will offer joyous and beautiful music for your celebrations throughout the day. Here are some highlights:
- 8 AM – Welcome Christmas!
- 9-11 AM – St. Olaf Christmas Festival
- 11 AM – Canadian Brass Christmas
It’s a holiday tradition that you won’t want to miss… a Canadian Brass Christmas, featuring seasonal favorites like “White Christmas” and “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” as well as music spanning from Johann Sebastian Bach to Glenn Miller.
- 1 PM – Three Tales of Christmas with Cantus
- 3-5 PM – A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Rebroadcast)
- 6 PM – Carols, Customs and Candlelight: a Celtic Christmas Celebration
- 7 PM – La Nochebuena: A Spanish Renaissance Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
- 8 PM – All is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas
- 9 PM-Midnight – A Local Touch with Raymond Jones
Holiday music with a Virginia connection to celebrate both Christmas night and the beginning of Chanukah.
Thursday, December 26:
- 9 PM – The Sounds of Kwanzaa (KVNO)
Garrett McQueen offers a background on the history of Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside musical selections that highlight the spirit of the celebration. The show features the compositions of Florence Price, Duke Ellington, and Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by the Imani Winds.
Friday, December 27:
- 9 PM – Candles Burning Brightly (APM)
Enjoy a delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! We’ll hear lots of music from Jewish communities around the world, plus a hilarious lesson on how to prepare a classic Chanukah dish, and a timeless and touching holiday story that brings light into every home.
Wednesday, January 1: New Year’s Day
- 11 AM-1 PM – New Year's Day from Vienna 2025 (Live Broadcast)
Ring in 2025 with our live broadcast of the annual New Year’s Day Concert from the Vienna Philharmonic. The concert will be conducted by Riccardo Muti, in his seventh New Year’s Day appearance, and hosted by WBUR's Lisa Mullins. Tune in for your favorite waltzes and more to get your New Year off to a festive start!
*Please note: program times and details may be subject to change.