Holiday Specials on WUOT
WUOT is looking forward to spending this holiday season with you and yours. As you plan your holiday get-togethers, shopping excursions, or moments of rest and reflection, consider tuning in for these holiday programs:
November 25 at 10 am - Giving Thanks
Giving Thanks sounds the way Thanksgiving feels: inviting, warm, and festive. It’s a contemporary, thoughtful celebration of the spirit of the holiday. Special guests Stanley Tucci and Naomi Shihab Nye join our Thanksgiving table, and music from Eric Whitacre, Bach, Copland and more complete the scene.
November 25 at 12 pm – The Splendid Table’s Turkey Confidential
Turkey Confidential is The Splendid Table’s annual Thanksgiving show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and inner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year.
November 25 at 2 pm – Every Good Thing
Host Andrea Blain and classical music fans from all around the country take some time to give thanks and celebrate one of life's most meaningful gifts: music. It's "Every Good Thing" — an hour of stories and music to celebrate Thanksgiving.
November 28 at 6 pm - Hanukkah Lights
Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz, the NPR favorite returns with all new Hanukkah stories.
December 5 at 6 pm - Candles Burning Brightly
Mindy Ratner hosts this 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.
December 12 at 6 pm – The Big Tiny Desk Holiday Concert
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.
December 13 at 8 pm - Festivo Alt.Latino: Gaby Moreno
NPR Music’s Alt.Latino presents a 2015 encore featuring songwriter/performer Gaby Moreno and her band performing tracks from her popular holiday album Posada - recorded live at the KUT studios in Austin, Texas. She was joined by special guests Gina Chavez and Chicano Zen bandleader and record producer Michael Ramos. Hosted by Felix Contreras
December 13 at 9 pm - All Is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas
Hosted by Lynne Warfel, All Is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas presents one hour of gorgeous, contemplative music related to the Christmas season and its symbolism. This program uses sacred choral music grouped in a way to tell the traditional Christmas story by way of songs about angels, the star, and the manger scene. Featured artists include Cambridge Singers, Cantus, and Chanticleer.
December 14 at 8 pm - 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. Hear the group’s luminous blend of voices sing the intricately woven music of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
December 14 at 9 pm - Welcome Christmas!
Welcome Christmas is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, conducted by Philip Brunelle. This program presents an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of two carols from the annual Christmas Carol Contest. Guest details to be announced.
December 15 at 8 pm - Jonathan Winters' A Christmas Carol
An updated version of a public radio tradition hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens' holiday classic, with a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations.
December 15 at 9 pm – Hygge Holiday
Join host Elena See for an hour-long program of nostalgic favorites for the winter season. Programming includes favorites from Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Debussy and Blake.
December 16 at 8 pm - UT Concert Hall - Jazz for Tots
Join host Melony Dodson for the 32nd annual Jazz for Tots concert, presented by jazz students from the University of Tennessee. Directed by Keith Brown, this holiday tradition is a benefit for the US Marine Corp Toys for Tots program. Tune-in to hear favorites such as “Skating” by Vince Guaraldi and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, performed by small jazz combos, as well as “Sleigh Ride” and “Let It Snow!” performed by the UT Jazz Big Band.
December 16 at 9 pm - Christmas with the Morehouse 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.
December 19 at 6 pm - Joy to the World: A Holiday in Pink
The internationally acclaimed “little orchestra" Pink Martini bedecks the airwaves with festive holiday songs from across the globe. From timeless classics to rarely heard gems, hear a multi-denominational, multi-cultural jubilee, overflowing with enough holiday spirit to warm your entire family. Hosted by All Things Considered’s Ari Shapiro.
December 20 at 7 pm - A Soulful Christmas
Julie Amacher and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu host this uplifting Christmas special that features Black music and composers. A Soulful Christmas celebrates classical music by Black artists, while exploring Spirituals, Gospel Music, Jazz and other Black musical traditions.
December 20 at 8 pm - Paul Winter’s Annual Winter Solstice Celebration
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 an encore performance of The Paul Winter Consort and the glorious Cathedral Pipe Organ. The performance brings traditional holiday favorites and sounds from around the world.
December 21 at 8 pm – Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra’s Classical Christmas Concert
December 22 at 8 pm - A Chanticleer Christmas
This one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, will be presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices." Chanticleer is one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the nation. The ensemble has won two Grammys and is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
December 22 at 9 pm – Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
The sounds of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square floated into many homes during the holidays in the '60s & '70s on Goodyear and Firestone albums, bringing lush renditions of favorite Christmas carols. Those warm memories and feelings come right back again in this holiday special. The choir continues its tradition of great artistry with touching arrangements of familiar carols, and surprises with lesser-known melodies that are fast becoming the new classics.
December 23 at 7 pm - An Afro Blue Christmas
Join us for a very special holiday concert with Howard University's premiere vocal ensemble Afro Blue and special guest pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Hear the a-cappela group perform a variety of holiday songs including African-American spirituals, jazz and pop tunes, and classical repertoire. The joyous celebration includes one of a kind arrangements on traditional holiday songs plus new compositions…music perfect for the holidays and the spirit of Christmas.
December 23 at 8 pm - UT Concert Hall - Winter Choral Concert
Join us for a special holiday concert featuring the major choral ensembles of the University of Tennessee. During this hour-long program, you’ll hear music in celebration of Kwanzaa, Dan Forrest’s “The Work of Christmas”, two different settings of Robert Frost’s poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Pentatonix’s arrangement of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and Jack Hawes’ “Magnificat” for organ and SATB choir. This concert was presented in recorded in Cox Auditorium on November 30, 2021.
December 23 at 9 pm - St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a chance for listeners across the country and around the world to participate in one of the nation’s most treasured holiday celebrations. Programming includes sacred choral and instrumental music from many traditions: beloved hymns, classical masterworks, folk songs from around the world, and African-American spirituals.
December 24 at 10 am - A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
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.
December 24 at 7 pm - Jazz Piano Christmas from NPR
Join the Kennedy Center and NPR Music for this annual holiday tradition highlighting jazz pianists and their favorite seasonal music, captured live in concert with a small audience. The all- star line up includes Patrice Rushen, Gerald Clayton and Eric Reed. Felix Contreras hosts.
December 24 at 11 pm - A Chanticleer Christmas
This one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, will be presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the superb 12-man ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices." Chanticleer is one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the nation. The ensemble has won two Grammys and is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
December 31 starting at 11 pm - NPR's Toast of the Nation
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. The line-up is almost confirmed and it’s sure to be a good time.
January 1, 2022 at 11 am - New Year's Day from Vienna LIVE
The ever popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Daniel Barenboim. With this concert it is not only the desire of the Vienna Philharmonic to provide musically definitive interpretations of the masterworks of this genre, but also, as musical ambassadors of Austria, to send people all over the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace. Hosted by WBUR's Lisa Mullins.