Jan 09, 2009 | WDC: 39.2 °F
Washington’s source for compelling television and inspiring classical music
Happy Holidays from WETA!
Enjoy holiday music on Classical WETA 90.9 FM and holiday programs on WETA Television! See below for details:
Holiday music on Classical WETA 90.9 FM
Classical WETA 90.9 FM holiday programming features classical selections for Hanukkah and Christmas and holiday favorites in classical instrumental, orchestral, and choral arrangements.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day selections include such works as Handel's Messiah and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.
Classical WETA will also broadcast special holiday programs, including A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
December 19 - 21, 2008
Theme Weekends: Christmas Music Weekend
December 21 - 26, 2008
Holiday music will be featured alongside regular classical programming, including a celebration of the beginning of Hanukkah on the evening of Sunday, December 21.
December 24, 2008 - Christmas Eve
10:00 am — A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge, England
12:00 pm — Christmas Eve Carolfest — Seven hours of the best choral, vocal and instrumental arrangements of traditional Christmas carols.
7:00 pm — Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker
December 25, 2008 - Christmas Day
12:00 pm — Handel's Messiah
7:00 pm — A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge, England
January 1, 2009 - New Years Day
11:00 am — Join us on New Year's Day 2009, for a sparkling celebration, live from the Golden Hall at the Musikverein in Vienna. The Vienna Philharmonic presents its annual New Year's Day from Vienna, including favorite waltzes and polkas, and so much more, all conducted by Argentinean-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim.
Featured video
Bringing you the gift of classical music throughout the year on Classical WETA 90.9 FM.
Classical WETA Players
Enjoy the holiday music of the
Classical WETA Players, an
ensemble offering free
performances at locations
throughout the Washington area.
The WETA Guide to Christmas
The WETA Guide to Christmas
Wednesday, December 17 at 10:00 pm
Tuesday, December 23 at 10:00 pm
Wednesday, December 24 at 4:30 pm
This new one-hour WETA TV 26 production offers a host of ideas about how to enjoy — and spread — some Christmas cheer this year, spotlighting everything from sing-a-longs to the best neighborhood Christmas lights, from onstage performances to children's activities. Explore holiday preparations and decorations throughout the Washington area and visit locations including Union Station, Mount Vernon and the White House.
Holiday programs on WETA Television
Sharing Christmas with John McDermott and Friends
Saturday, November 29 at 11:30 am
Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 am
John McDermott shares fond Christmas memories through song with public television friends Giorgia Fumanti, Allison Girvan and Pavlo.
Rick Steves' European Christmas
Saturday, November 29 at 5:00 pm
Sunday, November 30 at 2:00 pm and 12:00 am
Monday, December 1 at 10:30 pm
Travel expert Rick Steves explores how diverse European cultures celebrate Christmas — in locations from England to Norway, Burgandy to Bavaria, and from Rome to the Swiss Alps.
Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey — Holiday Special
Saturday, November 29 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, December 27 at 11:00 am
The vocal ensemble and award-winning fiddler Máiréad star in a holiday special that features memorable performance highlights from their acclaimed PBS specials: Celtic Woman: Live, A New Journey: Live at Slane Castle and A Christmas Celebration. Songs are interspersed with scenic images of Ireland.
The Three Tenors Christmas
Thursday, December 4 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, December 6 at 11:30 am and 10:00 pm
Wednesday, December 10 at 11:30 pm
José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti perform popular holiday songs and sacred songs at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, in a special taped in December 1999. The trio is accompanied by the Vienna Symphony and joined by the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen Children's Choir.
Great Performances: Dance in America: San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker
Wednesday, December 17 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, December 21 at 2:30 pm
The San Francisco Ballet presents The Nutcracker, with its setting transposed to San Francisco's 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition. San Francisco Ballet artistic director Helgi Tomasson's production features dazzling new sets by Michael Yeargan and opulent costumes by Martin Pakledinaz.
Faith Hill, Joy to the World: A Soundstage Special Event
Thursday, December 18 at 10:00 pm
Sunday, December 21 at 7:00 pm
Thursday, December 25 at 12:30 pm
Musical artist Faith Hill, backed by an orchestra, presents favorites from her holiday album Joy to the World, a collection of standards. The performances at the Chicago-area Sears Centre Arena feature booming orchestral arrangements, swinging, big-band versions of popular holiday songs and choirbacked spiritual songs.
Nature: Christmas in Yellowstone
Sunday, December 21 at 8:00 pm
Tuesday, December 23 at 1:00 am
The great park's winter world features breathtaking landscapes and scenes of wolves and coyotes, elk and bison, bears and otters as they make their way through the year's most challenging season.
The WETA Movie: Scrooge
Sunday, December 21 at 11:00 pm
Thursday, December 25 at 4:30 pm
This 1935 adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol features the story of a miser whose outlook is transformed by the holiday.
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring The King's Singers
Wednesday, December 24 at 8:00 pm
Thursday, December 25 at 1:30 pm
England's King's Singers join the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in a magnificent Christmas celebration featuring some of the season's most beloved songs.
Christmas at Luther: Night of Glory, Dawn of Peace
Wednesday, December 24 at 9:00 pm
Music, glowing candlelight and the robed choristers of Iowa's Luther College capture the joy of the holiday season. This year's special features performances by six choirs, the symphony orchestra, organ, hand bell choir, Christmas Brass and Percussion Ensemble; caroling; and the lighting of candles that encircle the audience in light.
L.A. Holiday Celebration 2008
Wednesday, December 24 at 10:00 pm
Thursday, December 25 at 2:00 pm
This multicultural performance program features highlights from the six-hour Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration that took place in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center on Christmas Eve 2007. The performers participating in the show each year represent the many cultures and holiday traditions found in the county.
Arthur's Perfect Christmas
Thursday, December 25 at 6:00 am
Arthur, D.W. and their family and friends make preparations for celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but their plans go awry.
A St. Thomas Christmas
Thursday, December 25 at 8:30 am
The University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, internationally renowned for its music excellence, presents its annual holiday concert at Orchestra Hall, featuring seven of the university's vocal and instrumental ensembles performing carols and traditional and contemporary music for the Advent and Christmas seasons.
Tonic Sol-fa Christmas
Thursday, December 25 at 9:30 am
A cappella vocal quartet Tonic Sol-fa presents a holiday concert taped live at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The spirited holiday program highlights the foursome's trademark humor and skilled musicianship as they perform a mix of traditional, secular and original holiday songs.
A Renaissance Christmas
Thursday, December 25 at 10:30 am
Chicago's celebrated Music of the Baroque Chorus and Brass celebrates the sounds of the holiday season with joyful carols, solemn chants and vibrant works for brass. The concert in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit includes both Renaissance and Baroque pieces for chorus and brass.
Christmas at St. Olaf: Where Peace and Love and Hope Abide
Thursday, December 25 at 11:30 am
A holiday special features the renowned choirs and orchestra of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, performing excerpts from Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St. Paul and Honegger's King David along with new, specially commissioned works for chorus and orchestra.
Great Performances: Renée Fleming: Sacred Songs & Carols
Thursday, December 25 at 3:30 pm
Backed by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and a boys choir, Renée Fleming sings a selection of sacred Christmas songs at Germany's Mainz Cathedral. The concert repertoire includes selections from Handel's Messiah, Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ, Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Bernstein's Mass.
Live from Lincoln Center: New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve Gala Concert
Wednesday, December 31 at 8:00 pm
The New York Philharmonic ushers in 2009 with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. Renée Fleming hosts the telecast, which marks Maestro Lorin Maazel’s last as music director of the Philharmonic.
Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Great Performances returns to Vienna's Musikverein for its 25th annual New Year's Day celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic. Daniel Barenboim leads a program of Strauss Family favorites in addition to festive ballets danced by the Vienna State Opera Ballet. The Philharmonic also performs Haydn's Symphony No. 45, the "Farewell."
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