WRR101 celebrates the season again as Your Home for the Holidays! Join us as we play old and new classical favorites to bring joy and warmth to the season.
Holiday Program Highlights
NOVEMBER
Thanksgiving
The celebration begins the week of Thanksgiving as WRR101 hosts and staff give thanks to YOU, WRR new members and sponsors. Join us Thanksgiving Day to enjoy programming centered around themes of harvest and gratitude.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28
THIS LAND: THANKSGIVING WITH THE AMERICAN SOUND
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
This land, the physical land called the United States of America, is home to people of a wide range of ethnicities, cultures, races, creeds and genders. This Thanksgiving Day, join host Jennifer Hambrick for a musical celebration of the diversity of this land – the varied natural topographies and biospheres, and the many communities that make this land exceptionally rich.
Every Good Thing
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
This Thanksgiving, host Andrea Blain and classical music fans from all around the country take 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.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2024
Black Friday
Join WRR101 at the most British spot in the metroplex – The British Emporium – for their annual Thanksgiveaway! The event gets underway at 9 am on Friday, November 29th and the store will be stocked full of treats and unique Christmas gifts to buy for the Anglophile in your life. The first 100 people to spend $20 will receive a goodie bag of British treats! WRR’s Amy Bishop AND KERA’s Bill Young will also be on site until 11 am to hand out WRR101 swag. Location: 140 N. Main St., Grapevine
Cantus: Songs of Thanks
9:00 PM-10:00 PM
Join us for “Songs of Thanks,” an innovative new production by Cantus. Through their signature narrative programming, the acclaimed vocal octet will weave together stories and songs celebrating gratitude and community. Don’t miss this special broadcast, designed to uplift the human spirit and honor the season.
DECEMBER
Christmas and Sounds of the Season
The day after Thanksgiving, WRR101 transitions to its classical holiday offerings. This will continue through New Year’s Day with holiday music reflecting Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Solstice celebrations offered through Dec. 31.
CAROLING IN THE ARTS DISTRICT: MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
The beloved holiday tradition continues! This series of five hourlong programs featuring local music groups broadcasts live from the Moody Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District.
- Mon 12/2/2024 – Booker T. Washington HS Choir & Arts District Chorale + Shelton Upper School Choir
- Tue 12/3/2024 – South Dallas Concert Choir & Orpheus Chamber Singers
- Wed 12/4/2024 – The Women’s Chorus of Dallas and Turtle Creek Chorale
- Thu 12/5/2024 – Verdigris Ensemble & Temple Emanu-el choir
- Fri 12/6/2024 – TX Boys Choir & Singing Girls of TX
Yuletide Countdown
WRR’s Kurt Rongey will play back the top 15 holiday tunes, as chosen by WRR! Tune in each weekday at 8:30 a.m. from December 3-23. Then, on December 24, we’ll air all fifteen of the countdown selections together starting at 6:00 pm.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2024
A Chanticleer Christmas
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
The beloved, Grammy-winning men’s chorus brings its “rich, intricately blended sound” (The Washington Post) to its signature holiday celebration. The centuries-spanning program ranges from Renaissance masterworks to roof-raising spirituals.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2024
La Nochebuena: A Spanish Renaissance Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
The acclaimed Rose Ensemble is back again for another one hour special for the holiday season. In La Nochebuena, Twin Cities early music group The Rose Ensemble explores the great variety of music that filled the royal court of Ferdinand and Isabella and flooded the chapels and streets of Renaissance Spain. Listeners will be transported to a time and place when the sacred met the earthy in celebration of the season.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2024
A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024
Welcome Christmas with VocalEssence
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Welcome Christmas is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premier choral ensembles, conducted by Philip Brunelle and G. Phillip Shoultz. Join host Bonnie North for an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including including the world premiere of three beloved Latvian carols by composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2024
Three Tales of Christmas with Cantus
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
In Christmas with Cantus, 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.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2024
Carols as Home with the Imani Winds
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2024
Solstice
As autumn changes to winter on the evening of December 21, WRR will usher in the season with programs to celebrate the longest night of the year.
Carols, Customs and Candlelight: A Celtic Christmas Celebration
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Host Andrea Blain explores music and customs that have roots in ancient winter celebrations and traditional Christmas festivals. The music features classical ensembles and soloists like Apollo’s Fire and Bryn Terfel, as well as traditional instruments like harp, fiddle and mandolin.
In Winter’s Glow: A Winter Solstice Program
9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
A winter solstice program, with modern classical sounds for the longest night of the year, chosen especially to complement the chilly, starry nights of the season.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2024
All Is Bright
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2024
All Is Bright
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2024
Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
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.
Christmas at the Meyerson with the Dallas Winds – A Special WRR Concert Hall Presentation
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
A stocking full of holiday favorites from the leading professional civilian wind band in the United States today.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2024
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
An opportunity to share in a 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.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2024
Christmas Day
Throughout the day on the 25th, WRR will offer its warm, cozy seasonal music mix. From 3-3:30 pm, we’ll feature Dallas musicians playing Christmas music. At 3:30, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. At 6:00, we’ll offer one of the most loved of all choral holiday concerts, from St. Olaf College in Minnesota.
Sounds of the Holidays
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Quin Mathews presents a seasonal music program, Texas-style, featuring local performances and North Texas musicians playing in other parts of the world. Long-time listeners will remember Quin for his in-depth local arts reporting on WRR’s Art Matters.
Blessings of Christmas featuring Hugh Bonneville & The Tabernacle Choir
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
The Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square present “Blessings of Christmas”, with special guest Hugh Bonneville and Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble. Music includes: “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night”, “Sing!” based on Toccata from Organ Symphony no. 5, “It is Well with My Soul” narrated by Hugh Bonneville, and more.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival 2024: Celebrating 150 Years of St. Olaf College
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
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.
Hanukkah on WRR101
Starting the evening of December 25, celebrating the Festival of Lights, WRR will provide music and programs that honor the Jewish experience.
A Chanukah Celebration with Chicago a cappella
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Join Jonathan Miller, artistic director of Chicago a cappella and longtime champion of Jewish choral music, for an inspiring and informative show featuring choral music set to Chanukah texts. Familiar tunes include “I Have a Little Dreidel” (both in its original Yiddish form and in a neo-funk Hebrew/English setting), a swing version of “S’vivon” by Steve Barnett, and a lively setting of the traditional melody for “Al-Hanissim (“For the Miracles”)” by Elliot Levine. Heartfelt original compositions by American and British composers provide added depth of expression to celebrating the holiday. Such works include “Lo Yisa Goy,” a plea for peace by Stacy Garrop; Bob Applebaum’s stirring new version of “Haneirot Halalu”; and movements from the majestic “Hallel Suite” by London-based Daniel Tunkel. All selections are performed by Chicago a cappella, the virtuoso vocal ensemble now in its 23rd season. Jonathan Miller provides liturgical and cultural background as part of this unique look inside old and newer choral Chanukah traditions.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2024 – WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2025
Kwanzaa
The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa
1:00 PM to 1:03 PM
The Pan-African festival of Kwanzaa celebrates family and community, and is observed every December 26 to January 1. This series of seven short features, one for each day of Kwanzaa focuses on the specific principle of each day and elements of the celebration. The goal of these segments is to introduce listeners to the celebration and to encourage an understanding of inclusion and diverse perspectives. The segments are hosted by acclaimed soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, and baritone Eric Logan. The music in the segments is Valerie Coleman’s Umoja, based on the first principle of Kwanzaa – Umoja, or Unity, performed by the Imani Winds.
WRR will feature a special program at 1:00 pm from December 26 through January 1 focusing on the specific principle of each day and elements of the celebration. The segments are hosted by acclaimed soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, and baritone Eric Logan, with music by Valerie Coleman.There will also be a special hour-long program on December 31 at 7:00 pm in which Garrett McQueen offers a background on the history of Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside musical selections that highlight the spirit of the celebration.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2024
WRR CONCERT HALL: Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra presents its Holiday Magic concert
8:00 PM
Each December, the GDYO performs a “Holiday Magic” concert with the Children’s Chorus and Youth Chorus of Greater Dallas. This opportunity allows musicians and audience members to experience great choral masterpieces such as Vivaldi’s Gloria and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2024
The Sounds of Kwanzaa
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
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, Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by Imani Winds.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2025 (Tentative)
New Year’s Day From Vienna 2024
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The ever-popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Christian Thielemann. 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.
Eternal Echoes for Hanukkah with Itzhak Perlman
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Itzhak Perlman, universally recognized as one of the world’s greatest classical violinists, has in also devoted himself to serious study of traditional Jewish music. Hankus Netsky teaches at the New England Conservatory and is a pioneer in the revival of Klezmer music. Both Perlman and Netsky join host James David Jacobs for an hour of songs and stories for Hanukkah, which includes four selections from their album as well as clips of the historical recordings that influenced them.
New Year’s Celebration
The final week of the year will continue holiday music and begin transitioning to music that celebrates the New Year! Listeners will continue to hear seasonal music the week after Christmas and leading up to the New Year. In addition, between Monday, December 30 and Wednesday, January 1, we will broadcast listener-selected favorites of classical music as determined in the WRR101 Classical Countdown that we held over Labor Day Weekend.
