Classical WNIU Holiday Specials
WNIU 2025 Holiday Highlights
Items in RED indicate local programming.
Find WNIJ Holiday Specials!
Saturday 12.6 — Metropolitan Opera: Puccini, La Bohème
One of the most frequently performed operas renowned for its memorable arias, this is a tale of the sweetly tragic romance centered around Mimi and Rodolfo.
Monday 12.8 — Encore: Rockford Wind Ensemble
Join WNIU for the 2025 “Seasonal Celebration of Hope and Harmony” performance by the world-class Rockford Wind Ensemble, showcasing a variety of holiday favorites.
Saturday 12.13 — Metropolitan Opera: Giordano, Andrea Chénier
Noted for its dramatic expression, this opera is a favorite among tenors. The story weaves themes of love, social inequality and the impact of the French revolution on personal relationships and society.
Monday 12.15 — Encore: Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops
WNIU is excited to present the 2025 KSO Holiday Pops “Winter Wonderland” concert, a local tradition that brings the community together with festive music and holiday classics.
Tuesday 12.16 — Rockford Choral Union, Handel’s Messiah
Join WNIU as we feature our neighbors from the Rockford Choral Union performing one of the most popular and favorite choral works for the holiday!
Tuesday 12.16 — Candles Burning Brightly
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.
Saturday 12.20 — Metropolitan Opera: Mozart, The Magic Flute
A special abridged English-language Holiday Presentation.
Sunday 12.21 — Sunday Baroque Holiday
Cozy up this Sunday morning as host Suzanne Bona features Christmas concertos, ancient carols and music inspired by the arrival of the Winter Solstice.
Sunday 12.21 — Christmas with Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs
One of the great holiday traditions in America, the choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges -- two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation -- get together to present a spine-tingling concert program. This encore presentation features the best works of the last several years. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark mixture of spirituals and carols. Korva Coleman hosts.
Sunday 12.21 — In Winter’s Glow
Join WNIU on the longest night of the year for this special winter solstice program. The hour features modern classical sounds chosen especially to complement the chilly, starry nights of the season.
Monday 12.22 — St. Olaf Christmas Festival
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations and we’re thrilled to share it with you this holiday season. Started in 1912 by F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf College Music Department, 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.
Monday 12.22 — Encore: Rockford Symphony Orchestra Holiday Pops
The annual RSO Holiday Pops concert features favorite merry melodies to get the whole family in the holiday spirit! The 2025 concert includes nearly 200 performers from throughout the community, coming together to spread good cheer!
Tuesday 12.23 — A Choral Christmas with Stile Antico
Celebrate Christmas with the sound of soaring voices! Stile Antico, the award-winning choir from London, pays a visit to St. Paul's Church on Harvard Square for a concert of the Christmas season by the most acclaimed composers of the renaissance. Hear the group's luminous blend of voices sing the intricately woven music of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
Wednesday 12.24 — Your Classics, Holiday Favorites
Celebrate the holiday this year with your favorite classical pieces as WNIU’s Kirk Lundbeck plays your requests on Christmas eve!
Wednesday 12.24 — Welcome Christmas
Join us for Welcome Christmas, a perennial holiday favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world's premier choral ensembles. Bonnie North is your host for an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries.
Wednesday 12.24 — Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
The WNIU audience will share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal ‘classical’ music (anthems, and a cappella with organ and congregational hymns), presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys. All performed in the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, England.
Thursday — Christmas Day
Classical WNIU is perfect company throughout the day on Christmas. Keep the radio on to help set the mood and inspire your holiday festivities with favorite and beautiful pieces performed by the world’s finest orchestras. A special gift for all!
Saturday 12.27 — Metropolitan Opera: Handel, Handel at the Met
A celebration of Handel at the holidays, with excerpts from Met performances, in honor of the 300th anniversary of Rodelinda.
Sunday 12.28 — Sunday Baroque
As the year comes to a close, host Suzanne Bona features some of the loveliest Baroque pieces of the season, and wraps up the year perfectly for a chilly holiday Sunday morning
Sunday 12.28 — Living Classical, Music of Night and Stars
Host and composer Tyler Kline connects you with music written and performed by today’s living composers and artists. On tonight’s special wintertime edition, Tyler features music written for the dark night, stillness and bright winter stars.
Thursday 1.1.26 — New Year's Day From Vienna 2026
Happy New Year! The ever-popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Yannick Nezet-Seguim in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. The Philharmonic sends people all over the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace. WNIU’s most festive way to start 2026!
Saturday 1.3.26 — Metropolitan Opera: Mason Bates, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
This network broadcast premiere kicks off the New Year for the Met. The performance comes from the fall of 2025 and is based on the book by Micheal Chabon.