PRE's Holiday Specials will air on PRE Classical at 90.3 Kinston-Goldsboro, 91.5 Atlantic Beach-Beaufort, 88.5 New Bern, and on 89.3 HD2 across Eastern North Carolina. You can also listen to the PRE Classical livestream at publicradioeast.org.
Every Good Thing
Airs Wednesday, November 22 at 3pm
On Thanksgiving, 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.
Giving Thanks
Airs Thursday, November 23 at 2pm and 3pm
Giving Thanks shares music and stories that reflect the meaning of gratitude. And this year for its 25th anniversary Giving Thanks presents the best moments of a quarter century of guests, including Stanley Tucci, Anne Lamott, Deepak Chopra, and many more.
Winter Holidays around the World with Bill McGlaughlin
Airs on Thursday, November 30th at 7pm
Winter holidays are celebrated around the world, and their music is wonderful to hear, regardless of which tradition you observe. Bill McGlaughlin, celebrated educator, performer, conductor, and composer and host of Exploring Music, gathers and presents this spirited selection. Turn on your radio, pour a cup of tea, cozy up to a warm fire, and enjoy the music!
A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico
Airs Monday, December 4th at 7pm
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. Hosted by Cathy Fuller of WGBH.
Candles Burning Brightly
Airs Thursday, December 7 at 7pm
A delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! There is lots of music from Jewish communities worldwide, a hilarious lesson on preparing a classic Hanukkah dish, and a timeless and touching holiday story that brings light into every home.
A Chanukah Celebration with Chicago a cappella
Airs Friday, December 8 at 7pm
Join Jonathan Miller, artistic director of Chicago a cappella and a longtime champion of Jewish choral music, for an inspiring and informative show featuring choral music set to Chanukah texts.
The Ballad of the Brown King and Other Music for Christmas by Black Composers
Airs Monday, December 11th at 7pm
Dr. Louise Toppin, a noted performer and scholar who specializes in the concert repertoire of African American composers, presents the world premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King.
Carols as Home with the Imani Winds
Airs Thursday, December 14th at 7pm
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 why these classic carols are still essential today. You’ll hear many of your favorite carols updated with the ensembles’ own imaginative take. This is APM’s first hour long special dedicated to Imani Winds, and the debut of Toyin Spellman-Diaz as host.
A Rochester Festival of Lessons and Carols 2023
Airs Friday, December 15th at 7pm
A Rochester Festival of Lessons and Carols was recorded at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York under the direction of organist/choirmaster Peter DuBois. The program will consist of the traditional readings that were selected by King’s College Dean Eric Milner White, and music by William Mathias, Tomas Luis de Victoria, David Hogan, and Jessica French.
Montserrat Boy Choir (Escolania de Montserrat)
Airs Sunday, December 17th at 1pm
Perched atop the mountains near Barcelona, the choir of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious boy choirs. For the first time in their 800-year history, the choir made its Midwest premiere. Bringing with them a message of peace, the choristers will use music to transcend borders and speak directly to your heart.
Holiday Jazz with Dee Alexander
Airs on Sunday, December 17th at 5pm
Beloved Chicago vocalist and Jazz Network host Dee Alexander entertains and enchants with songs and reminiscences of holidays past, with support from longtime collaborators pianist Miguel de la Cerna, bassist Junius Paul and drummer Yussef Ernie Adams.
Welcome Christmas
Airs Monday, December 18th at 7pm
There’s no better way to welcome Christmas than Welcome Christmas! the VocalEssence holiday concert. It’s an hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
Airs on Wednesday, December 20th at 2pm
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. It features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers and the Viking Chorus, performing as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
A Winter's Solstice
Airs first day of Winter Thursday, December 21st 3pm
A winter solstice program, with modern classical sounds for the longest night of the year, chosen especially to compliment the chilly, starry nights of the season.
The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays
Airs Thursday, December 21 at 7pm
Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips is your host for The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays, an hour-long special devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music.
All is Bright
Airs Friday, December 22nd at 7pm
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. Updated for 2023.
Carol Countdown
Airs Saturday, December 23rd at 12pm and 1pm
Join us this holiday season as we count down the top Christmas songs as voted by you in a two-hour special.
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet with Mindy Ratner on C-24
Airs Saturday, December 23rd at 5pm and 6pm
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols LIVE BROADCAST
Airs on Sunday, December 24th at 10am and 11am
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols presents your audience with an opportunity to share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal Classical music. This special will be presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
The Night Before Christmas on C-24
Airs Sunday, December 24th at 7pm and 10pm
Listen for this classic tale, complete with classical music and sound effects, narrated by C24 host, Lynne Warfel.
MN Orchestra New Year's Celebration
Airs Sunday, December 31st at 4pm and 5pm
Ring in the new year with the Minnesota Orchestra! The program opens with Bernstein’s animated Overture to Candide. Awadagin Pratt performs the Minnesota premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds for Piano and Orchestra, a work written for him. A New Year’s celebration wouldn’t be complete without adventure and passion, and the Orchestra brings that in multitudes in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s beloved Scheherazade. Encore of 2022 live performance.