WCLV Christmas, Chanukah & Kwanzaa Specials 2025
Sunday November 30 8pm
Gaudete! Early Music for the Christmas Season
Sara Schneider presents joyful and contemplative sounds of the season. We’ll hear Byzantine chant by Kassiani, and selections from Missa Puer natus est nobis by Thomas Tallis, plus hymns and motets from Spain, Germany, and France. Performers include The Cardinall’s Musick, Theatre of Voices, Cappella Romana, and Oltremontano.
Sunday December 7 8pm
Christmas Revels (1hr)
A brand-new musical celebration of the Winter holidays -- Christmas, the Solstice, Jonkonnu, New Year’s and Twelfth Night/Epiphany -- featuring traditional carols, wassails, hymns, spirituals, children’s game-songs, and folk dance-tunes excerpted from live Christmas Revels stage productions presented around the country. (repeat Wed 12/31 3pm)
Sunday December 14 8pm
A Chanukah Celebration with Chicago a cappella
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.
Wednesday December 17 10pm
Candles Burning Brightly with Mindy Ratner
A delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! Lots of music from Jewish communities around the world, plus a hilarious lesson on how to prepare a classic Chanukah dish, and a timeless and touching holiday story that brings light into every home.
Sunday December 21 4pmThe Cleveland Orchestra Chorus at Christmas with Robert Conrad
Two hours of highlights from Cleveland Orchestra Holiday Concerts across the decades. The program features TCO choral directors like Robert Shaw, Gareth Morrell, Robert Page, and Robert Porco and is hosted by long-time Cleveland Orchestra radio host and producer Robert Conrad. (repeated Thu 12/25 at noon)
Sunday December 21 8pm
In Winter's Glow with Steve SeelA 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.
Wednesday December 24 6am
The Sound of Cinnamon with Jake Armerding - What does hygge mean to you? Maybe it means friendship, laughter, or more concrete things like warmth, light, seasonal food and drink. It might make you think of sitting by the fire on a cold winter night, wearing your favorite oversized sweater, reading a book, and sipping cinnamon tea.
Wednesday December 24 2pm
2025 St. Olaf Christmas Festival with Valerie Kahler
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.
Wednesday December 24 8pm
Ovations with Sam Petrey – Akron Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in a concert featuring Part 1 of Messiah by George Frideric Handel, recorded in November 2025.
Thursday December 25 9am
Welcome Christmas with Bonnie North
The perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world's premier choral ensembles, conducted by Philip Brunelle and G. Phillip Shoultz. It’s an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of three beloved Latvian carols by composer Eriks Esenvalds.
Thursday December 25 10pm
Mexican Baroque Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
This holiday program features over two centuries of festive Christmas dances and songs from the great cathedrals of Puebla and Mexico City.
Saturday December 27 5pm
The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays with Michael Phillips
The film critic of the Chicago Tribune hosts an hour of holiday and wintertime movie music. In addition to standards (“White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from “Meet Me in St. Louis”), it’s an eclectic mix of wintry film scores, from “It Happened in Sun Valley” (from “Sun Valley Serenade”) and Alexandre Desplat’s folk-inspired score for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to Bernard Herrmann’s bracing sleigh ride composed for the Orson Welles’s “The Magnificent Ambersons.”
Sunday December 28 8pm
The Sounds of Kwanzaa with Garrett McQueen
The history of the African American holiday Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside music that highlights the spirit of the celebration. The hour features the compositions of Florence Price, Duke Ellington, Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by Imani Winds.
Wednesday December 31 11am Chanticleer Christmas with Steve Staruch
The Grammy-winning men’s chorus brings its signature sound to a centuries-spanning program from Renaissance masterworks to roof-raising spirituals.
Wednesday December 31 3pm
Christmas Revels
A brand-new musical celebration of the Winter holidays -- Christmas, the Solstice, Jonkonnu, New Year’s and Twelfth Night/Epiphany -- featuring traditional carols, wassails, hymns, spirituals, children’s game-songs, and folk dance-tunes excerpted from live Christmas Revels stage productions presented around the country. (1hr)
Tuesday December 31 6pm
Carols, Customs and Candlelight: A Celtic Christmas Celebration with Andrea Blain
The Celtic lands of Northwestern Europe— places like Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany—have an especially rich musical heritage. This hour explores music and customs that have roots in ancient winter celebrations and traditional Christmas festivals. The music features ensembles and soloists like Apollo’s Fire and Bryn Terfel, and traditional instruments like harp, fiddle and mandolin.
Wednesday December 31 8pmFranz Welser-Möst in Vienna with Bill O’Connell
Three hours of famous concert works, polkas and, of course, waltzes, like Tales from the Vienna Woods and the Emperor Waltz with Franz Welser-Möst and the Vienna Philharmonic...recorded live in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein and on the grounds of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace!
Wednesday December 31 11amA Handel & Haydn Society Christmas with Cale Wiggins – Celebrate the season with this special featuring Christmas choral music from America’s oldest continuously performing ensemble, Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society. The hour features music from the 15th century to the late 20th; a Christmas for all times.
Wednesday December 31 5pm A Toast for the New Year with John Mills
Ring out the old, ring in the new with music for toasting, dancing, and revelry. Champagne, wine, and ale make many appearances in Classical Music, and we’ll sample them all – in moderation, of course. So, tune in and raise a festive glass in a toast for the new year! (repeat Wed 12/31 11pm & Thu 1/1 4pm)
Tuesday December 31 4pmApollo’s Fire Presents Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain: An Irish-Appalachian Celebration
Recorded live in concert in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium, Apollo’s Fire explores the history of Appalachia’s Irish and Scottish roots through music. It’s a lively celebration complete with fiddlers, medieval harp, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes, singers, and children’s voices, all led by artistic director Jeannette Sorrell.
Thursday January 1 2pmTchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’ with Sam Petrey
The holiday ballet par excellence with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Antal Dorati. There’s much more to The Nutcracker than its famous Suite!
Thursday January 1 5pm
Christmas Revels (2hr)
A brand-new musical celebration of the Winter holidays -- Christmas, the Solstice, Jonkonnu, New Year’s and Twelfth Night/Epiphany -- featuring traditional carols, wassails, hymns, spirituals, children’s game-songs, and folk dance-tunes excerpted from live Christmas Revels stage productions presented around the country.
Wednesday January 1 7pm
New Year's Day from Vienna 2025 with Lisa Mullins – Vienna Philharmonic, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. A same-day broadcast of the program aired in over 90 countries and followed by millions of radio listeners and television viewers around the world.