WUNC presents a number of holiday specials during the 2020 holiday season.
Some of our regular shows will also have special features and music for the season during this time including Back Porch Music.
All times listed are in the Eastern time zone.
WEDNESDAY – 12/23/20
12 noon – NPR’s Tinsel Tales 3
Listeners tune to NPR for extraordinary Christmas stories that transport you to unexpected places. Baxter Black ponders the meaning of Christmas for Cows, Bailey White sneaks into her neighbor’s yard in search of an elusive hemlock tree; Julie Zickefoose serenades her neighbors on the coldest night of the year.
8p – NPR’s Tinsel Tales 2
Stories of the Season Told Through Music
For many of us, Christmas is about family and traditions. For others it s a stressful or even a sad time. No matter how good or bad your holiday is, it’s quite likely to include music. This year, Tinsel Tales includes stories of the season told through music with interviews from the NPR Archives. Kenny Rogers, Katie Melua, Sting, Amy Grant and Jon Batiste talk about the power of music at Christmas. Hosted by Lynn Neary
10 - 11am: St. Olaf Christmas Festival 2020
A service in song and word, 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
(NHPR)
On Christmas morning, NHPR hearkens back to a seasonal favorite, our 2005 conversation with Gerald Charles Dickens, Charles Dickens s great-great-grandson and an actor. Dickens toured America with his one-man performance of A Christmas Carol”; we spoke with him about the legacy of his namesake and the enduring magic of this holiday story. He also performs a handful of scenes from his show.
10-11 am:
(NPR)
An Afro Blue Christmas is a joyous celebration that includes one of a kind arrangements of traditional holiday songs, plus new compositions. The concert features Howard University s premiere vocal ensemble Afro Blue, and special guest pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Hear the a cappella group perform a variety of holiday songs including African-American spirituals, jazz and pop tunes, and classical repertoire. The concert is hosted by former