Happy Holidays from Montana Public Radio! Make MTPR part of your celebrations with these special holiday programs:
December 24:
1:00 p.m. – St. Olaf Christmas Festival
A service in song and word that has become one of the nation’s most cherished holiday celebrations. Tickets to the event - which takes place at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN - are always gone months in advance. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
3:00 p.m. – Wind & Rhythm Christmas Special
4:00 p.m. - Tinsel Tales 2
NPR fills millions of homes each holiday with humor, warmth, and a host of festive voices. Continuing with the tradition of the first Tinsel Tales program, this is another collection of the best and most requested holiday stories. Joy, hope, and childhood memories overflow as NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season. Hosted by Lynn Neary.
6:00 p.m. – "Occasional Shivers"
"Occasional Shivers" is a brand new holiday special with music that harkens back to an earlier age. Hosted by jazz great Branford Marsalis, and composed by Southern pop icon Chris Stamey, "Occasional Shivers" is a unique radio drama set in 1960s Manhattan.
With music, song and dialogue, this hour-long special tells the story of two young lovers who meet at a pair of Christmas parties. The music is new, but sounds straight up torch song, written in the tradition of the Great American Songbook.
7:00 p.m. – Joy to the World – A Holiday in Pink
8:00 p.m. – Jonathan Winters – A Christmas Carol
An updated version of a public radio tradition hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens' holiday classic, with a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations. Also featuring Mimi Kennedy. From NPR and KCRW.
9:00 p.m. – Candles Burning Brightly
A one-hour celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights with an exploration of Chanukah foods and traditional activities ... and plenty of music.
10:00 p.m. – Carols and Cheer
11:00 p.m. – Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
December 25:
6:00 a.m. – A Chanticleer Christmas
A one-hour program of holiday favorites, new and old, presented live in concert by the superb 12-man ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices."
11:00 a.m. – A Christmas Memory – Read by MTPR's Gus Chambers
11:35 a.m. – Hungry: Julia Child Presents "A Dickens Holiday Feast"
12:00 p.m. – Tinsel Tales 1
This program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk -- these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season. Hosted by Lynn Neary.
1:00 p.m. – Jazz Piano Christmas XXXII
Join the Kennedy Center and NPR Music for a special family affair at this year's holiday concert that features Chicagoans Willie Pickens and daughter Bethany Pickens, plus husband and wife Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes. Hosted by Felix Contreras.
2:00 p.m. – An Afro Blue Christmas
3:00 pm – Hollywood Holiday
Lynne Warfel, host of Saturday Cinema, takes you on a one hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood's most cherished Christmas themed movies.
6:00 p.m. – Hanukkah Lights 2016
A perennial NPR favorite with all new Hanukkah stories. Authors include R.L. Maizes, Elisa Albert, Ellen Orleans, and Lia Pripstein. Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.
7:00 p.m. – Tinsel Tales 3
In keeping with a well-loved NPR holiday tradition, hear the third collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places.
Audie Cornish, Ken Harbaugh, Nina Totenberg and other voices from NPR's past and present tell stories of the season in this hour-long special. Some tales are funny; some are touching; some are insightful or irreverent or nostalgic or surprising. You might recognize them from our broadcast archives — or you might fall in love with them for the first time. Hosted by Lynn Neary
8:00 p.m. – Song Travels – Home for the Holidays
Join Michael Feinstein for an hour of yuletide cheer and music. This edition of Song Travels journeys from Hollywood’s vintage silver screen to New York City’s iconic Birdland club. The Michael Feinstein Big Band performs selections from the classic movie White Christmas, and Feinstein shares rare recordings from some of his favorite performers.
9:00 p.m. – Christmas with Morehouse and Spellman Glee Clubs
10:00 p.m. – A Chanticleer Christmas
11:00 p.m. - Welcome Christmas!
The perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups. An hour of traditional carols and new discoveries.
December 26:
8:00 p.m. - A Chanukah Celebration with Chicago a cappella
