Sunday, December 14
Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites – 7 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Hosted by Lynn Neary, this program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season.
Tuesday, December 16
Live in Studio C - 11:06 a.m. (repeats at 8:06 p.m.) on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Live in Studio C host Will Griffin welcomes acoustic guitar duo Duology and the Sam Levine Quartet for a program of Christmas melodies.
Saturday, December 20
Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites – 2 p.m. on 1430 WPLN-AM
Jonathan Winters: A Christmas Carol – 3 p.m. on 1430 WPLN-AM
Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of this holiday favorite, using a special edition prepared by Charles Dickens himself for his own presentations.
Nashville Unlimited Christmas Special - 7 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
This annual Christmas concert hosted by Dave Pomeroy and Don Henry features some of the best musicians in our community to benefit Nashville’s Room in the Inn. Special guests include the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Johnny Neel, Jonell Mosser and Three Ring Circle.
Special holiday editions of the following programs will be airing on 90.3 WPLN-FM:
A Prairie Home Companion - 5 p.m. (repeats Sunday at 1 p.m.)
Bluegrass Breakdown - 8 p.m.
American Routes - 9 p.m.
Echoes - 11 p.m.
Sunday, December 21
Hanukkah Lights – 3 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
In this program hosted by Murray Horwitz and Susan Stamberg, acclaimed authors explore Hanukkah traditions in original stories written expressly for Hanukkah Lights.
Christmas Around the Country – 7 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
The best of holiday music-making from coast to coast, hosted by Lisa Simeone. NPR takes you from churches to concert halls to auditoriums to town halls all across the nation in search of performances that express the best of the holiday season.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival – 8 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
From St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, the festival - now in its 134th year - includes hymns, carols, choral works, and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity, featuring more than 500 student musicians and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
Paul Winter Solstice Concert – 10 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Broadcasting from New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a celebration of world music with Eugene Friesen, Paul Sullivan, Brazilian percussionist Café, singer/guitarist Renato Braz, "Icarus" double-reed man Paul McCandless, and Apache singer John-Carlos Perea.
Monday, December 22
Carols for Dancing – 12:10 p.m. (repeats at 8 p.m.) on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Explore the intimate connection between song and dance. Built around vigorous performances by Renaissonics, an award-winning improvisatory Renaissance dance band, this program tells the story of the mid-winter holiday dance tradition with narratives by host Ellen Kushner.
Tuesday, December 23
Live in Studio C - 11:06 a.m. (repeats at 8:06 p.m.) on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Host Will Griffin welcomes the Nashville Double Reed Ensemble and a choral group led by Michael Harrison singing new and traditional Christmas pieces.
A Harpist’s Christmas with Yolanda Kondonassis – 12:10 p.m. (repeats at 8 p.m.) on 90.3 WPLN-FM
America’s premiere harpist Yolanda Kondonassis celebrates the season with treasures of Christmas harp music, with flautist Joshua Smith and viola player Cynthia Phelps.
Wednesday, December 24
Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols – 9 a.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Hosted by Michael Barone from Cambridge, England, this treasured worldwide Christmas Eve service of Biblical readings with choral and organ selections has been broadcast live by the BBC since 1928.
Christmas with Madrigalia – 11 a.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
One-hour holiday concert sung by the eighteen-voice chamber ensemble Madrigalia that includes music by Corelli and Charpentier.
Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers 2008 - noon on 90.3 WPLN-FM
One-hour performance of traditional and contemporary holiday music by the much-loved Philadelphia Singers.
Songs of Joy and Peace: The Yo-Yo Ma Holiday Party – 1 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
A celebration featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma with his favorite musicians from around the world.
Choirs and Carols – 2 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Lisa Simeone hosts a program of ancient harmonies from Trio Medieval, traditional carols from the Riga Dom Boys Choir, the Pittsburg Brass, Trio Voronezh, and a rarely heard Christmas song by Sibelius, straight from Finland’s YL Choir.
A Car Talk Christmas Carol Redux – 4:30 p.m. on 1430 WPLN-AM
An updated and refreshed version of the holiday classic, starring Tom and Ray Magliozzi and a stellar cast of public radio personalities including Robert Siegel as Bob Cratchit.
Thursday, December 25
Christmas Music from Classical 24 – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to midnight on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Sunday, December 28
Songs of Joy and Peace: The Yo-Yo Ma Holiday Party – 7 p.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Thursday, January 1
New Year’s Day from Vienna – 9 a.m. on 90.3 WPLN-FM
Live from the Golden Hall at the Musikverein, the Vienna Philharmonic presents its annual celebration, conducted by Argentinean-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim.
