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We have a variety of classical specials for the holiday season, from Christmas to New Year's Day. Listen to them any time that's convenient using this comprehensive listing.


Every Good Thing

Giving Thanks 25th Anniversary - John Birge - 2023

Giving Thanks 25th Anniversary

Candles Burning Brightly

All Is Bright

The Monserrat Boy Choir Escolania de Monserrat

Carols as Home with Imani Winds

A Chanticleer Christmas

Christmas at Luther

Christmas with Cantus

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square 2021

Echoes of Christmas

Hollywood Holiday 2021

Hygge Holiday 2021

In Winter's Glow

Classical Feature - Holiday - A Soulful Christmas

St Olaf Christmas 2023

Classical Feature - Holiday - Welcome Christmas

Welcome Christmas

Your Classical Christmas Favorites

We Stand On Top of the Mountain

Minnesota Orchestra A New Year's Day Celebration 2023

Thanksgiving Playlist: Classical Music for Holiday Meals - YourClassical MPR Playlist

YourClassical Storytime: Lurkey is Lost!

Holiday

Jamie Street/Unsplash

Listen to our 2023 winter holiday specials on demand

On Jan. 1, 2023, conductor Mei-Ann Chen and the Minnesota Orchestra rang in the new year with a program featuring music by Leonard Bernstein, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and a piece by Jessie Montgomery performed by special guest Awadagin Pratt. Listen to the concert now as we prepare for 2024!


Minnesota Orchestra: 2023 New Year's Day Celebration

Minnesota Orchestra

Listen: Minnesota Orchestra's 2023 New Year’s Day Celebration

Cynthia Dickison

How much do you know about Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, beyond its signature melodies? Let’s crack it open for Christmas!


Tchaikovsky ~ The Nutcracker (cond. Dorati) - 1962

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH.14 / Act 2: No. 14a Pas de deux: Intrada

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker: The Battle – Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH 14: Overture

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Nut Rocker - Live in Switzerland, 1970

Nick Fewings/Unsplash

How well do you know Tchaikovsky's Christmas classic, 'The Nutcracker'?

Ward Jacobson has enjoyed a radio career spanning over two decades as a morning show host and sportscaster, as well as producer/host of an interview program where he chatted with authors, musicians, politicians and newsmakers. He is also a past winner of the prestigious Marconi Award. Jacobson's love of classical music stems from a childhood influenced by his bass-baritone father and piano-teaching mother. While still a college student in Nebraska, he began singing with the Abendmusik Chorus and took part in concert tours to venues as varied as Englands Lincoln Cathedral, the Vatican, Salzburg Cathedral, Auschwitz and Moscow. When not singing, he works to develop his guitar-strumming repertoire.


Ward Jacobson

For a 7-year-old kid growing up on a farm in Nebraska in the 1960s, the best Christmas gift came from Goodyear’s annual ‘Great Songs of Christmas’ albums, especially the 1965 and ‘66 volumes. YourClassical host Ward Jacobson remembers.


Jan Peerce - O Come All Ye Faithful (1966)

Provided

Goodyear’s 'Great Songs of Christmas' albums still have lots of good tread

You ranked your favorite holiday tunes. Now, we’ve tallied the results to create ‘YourClassical Christmas Favorites,’ a two-hour holiday special highlighting the top carols based on your votes. Listen now, with hosts Tom Crann and Valerie Kahler.


Listen to 'YourClassical Christmas Favorites,' as chosen by you

In this season of holiday traditions, few are as magnificent and memorable as Handel's ‘Messiah.’ British conductor Christopher Warren-Green returns to lead the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Chorale and soloists in this glorious work. Listen live at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, on YourClassical MPR.


Minnesota Orchestra and Chorale present Handel's 'Messiah'

Mindy Ratner is a host and producer on the Classical Music Service of Minnesota Public Radio, where she is heard on weekends. She began her career in public broadcasting following her graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working first for the local public television station and then for Wisconsin Public Radio. She moved on to stations in Cincinnati and Philadelphia before joining Minnesota Public Radio in 1983. In 1998 and '99, Ratner took a leave of absence to work as a music host and producer for China Radio International in Beijing. Her spare time is devoted to international travel; folk, ballroom and contradancing; singing in the Minnesota Chorale; her two cats, and trying to stay ahead of the weeds in her garden.


Mindy Ratner

Hosted by Mindy Ratner, ‘Candles Burning Brightly’ is 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.


'Candles Burning Brightly'

Melissa Ousley stumbled into a career in broadcasting many years ago when she moved to Wichita, Kansas to be near her soon-to-be husband. The attraction (to radio work, that is) was immediate and the chance to be around great music without having to practice piano was irresistible. After establishing herself as a host and producer in Kansas, Melissa moved to Minnesota and continued her work at WCAL in Northfield and Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul. Her morning classical show at WCAL was twice named "Best Classical Radio Program" by the Twin Cities paper City Pages. Melissa grew up near New York City. As a teenager, she attended the Preparatory Division of the Manhattan School of Music. Her bachelor's degree in music education is from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. When she's away from the airwaves, Melissa loves to run, read, and spend time with her family.


Melissa Ousley

Each December, the Center for Faith and Life at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, rings out with the sacred and the exuberant: the sounds of the Christmas season. Enjoy the 2022 program, ‘The Gifts They Gave Emmanuel.’


Christmas at Luther: 'The Gifts They Gave Emmanuel'

John Birge has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.


John Birge

‘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 John Birge for an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including compositions and arrangements by Mack Wilberg, Glenn Rudolph and John Rutter.


Welcome Christmas!

Celebrate the season with song! Melissa Ousley hosts this one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, presented live in concert by Chanticleer, the two-time Grammy-winning 12-man ensemble known as ‘an orchestra of voices.’


Holiday Stream Stories