KPR invites you to enjoy the gift of radio with special holiday programming. Full schedule below.
Thursday, December 21 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
Holiday Vespers
The annual concert of music for the holiday season, performed by the KU Choirs and Orchestra. This year is the 99th performance of Holiday Vespers and features carols for Christmas, songs for Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, and orchestral favorites like Sleigh Ride.
(Encore broadcasts Friday, Dec. 22 at 2:00 p.m. and Christmas Day at 9:00 a.m.)
Thursday, December 21 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. (KPR 2)
A Very Merry KPR Presents
Kaye McIntyre hosts an hour of songs and stories about the season, featuring members of the Kansas Public Radio staff.
(Encore broadcasts Saturday, Dec. 23 at 6:00 a.m. on KPR 1; Sunday, Dec. 24 at 1:00 p.m. on KPR 2; and Sunday, Dec. 24 at 6:00 p.m. on KPR 1)
Monday, December 22 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
Holiday Vespers
An encore broadcast of the holiday concert by the KU Choirs and Orchestra.
Friday, December 22 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
A Film Music Friday Christmas
This week we’re hearing music drawn from films with a Christmas theme, including A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop’s Wife, A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Polar Express and more.
Saturday, December 23 6:00 - 7:00 a.m. (KPR 1)
A Very Merry KPR Presents
Encore broadcast of this year’s holiday special.
Saturday, December 23 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
The Retro Cocktail Hour Christmas Party
Join host Darrell Brogdon for two hours of swinging songs for the season by Frank Sinatra, the Three Suns, Ella Fitzgerald, the Hollyridge Strings, Juan Esquivel, Seth MacFarlane, Ixtahuele, Tiki Joe’s Ocean and more!
Sunday, December 24 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. (KPR 1)
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols presents an opportunity to share in a live, 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.
(Encore broadcast Dec. 24 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.)
Sunday, December 24 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (KPR 2)
A Very Merry KPR Presents
Encore broadcast of this year’s holiday special.
Sunday, December 24 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
A Very Merry KPR Presents
Encore broadcast of this year’s holiday special.
Sunday, December 24 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
An encore broadcast of the event at the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
Sunday, December 24 10:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. (KPR 1)
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, of the St. Olaf College Music Department, the festival includes hymns, carols, choral works and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. It features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir and more.
(Encore broadcast Dec. 25 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
Monday, December 25 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. (KPR 1)
Holiday Vespers
An encore broadcast of the holiday concert by the KU Choirs and Orchestra.
Monday, December 25 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival
An encore broadcast of the holiday celebration at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.
Monday, December 25 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
Your Classical Christmas Favorites
Join us this holiday season as we count down the top Christmas songs as voted by listeners in a two-hour special.
Monday, December 25 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
Welcome, Christmas!
There’s no better way to welcome Christmas than Welcome, Christmas!, the VocalEssence holiday concert. It’s an hour of joyful, classic holiday music from VocalEssence, one of the world’s premiere choral groups, singing traditional carols and new discoveries.
Monday, January 1 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (KPR 1)
Minnesota Orchestra New Year’s Celebration
Ring in the new year with the Minnesota Orchestra! The program opens with Bernstein’s animated Overture to Candide. Awadagin Pratt performs the Minnesota premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds for Piano and Orchestra, a work written for him. A New Year’s celebration wouldn’t be complete without adventure and passion, and the Orchestra brings that in multitudes in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s beloved Scheherazade.