Join KSMU this holiday season for a special lineup of programs, from Chanukah to Christmas to Kwanzaa, as well as a satirical hour of entertainment as we prepare to ring in the New Year. Many of our programs are made possible in part by our friends at Public Radio International. Enjoy! And happy holidays!
Thursday, Nov. 26; 10 - noon: Echoes Acoustic Thanksgiving
Join us for this creation of a warm and inviting soundscape for Thanksgiving Day. Electronics are unplugged and acoustic instruments and voices shine on this program which is centered by a live performance from an acoustic artist.
Thursday, Nov. 26: 7 -9 pm: PSO Thanksgiving 2015
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs Má Vlast, the six-part symphonic by Czech composer Bed?ich Smetana. Má Vlast journeys through imagery from the composer's homeland to evoke imagery of landscapes, a wedding party, a hunt and even water nymphs.
Monday, Dec. 7; 7 - 8 pm: Chanukah in Story and Song
Leonard Nimoy hosts this hour-long Chanukah favorite, featuring a celebration by The Western Wind performing Ladino songs of Spanish Jews, Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe and modern Israeli tunes.
Monday, Dec. 14; 10 - 11 am: Chanukah in Story and Song (Repeat)
Monday, Dec. 14; 7 - 9 pm: The Christmas Revels: In Celebration of the Winter Solstice 2015
A two-hour musical celebration of the winter holidays – Christmas, the Solstice, New Year's, and Twelfth Night – featuring traditional carols, anthems, hymns, motets, wassails, spirituals, children's game-songs, and folk dance tunes excerpted from live Christmas Revels productions presented around the country.
Wednesday, Dec. 16; 7 - 9 pm: A Christmas Celtic Sojourn 2015
Direct from the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, a Celtic celebration of the season, with top-flight traditional singers and instrumentalists, and a story or two from host Brian O’Donovan.
Thursday, Dec. 17; 10 - 11 am: Living on Earth: Hope for the Holidays
Hear tales from Celtic traditions, an African-American parable, and other stories all centered on the theme of hope. Two characters listeners will meet in this program include a trickster slave who outwits his master, and a boy who discovers that he’s descended from an enemy tribe.
Thursday, Dec. 17; 7 - 8 pm: In Italia: A Renaissance Christmas from Venice, Naples, Milan and Beyond
This special holiday edition of Harmonia brings listeners wonderful sixteenth-century Christmas music from the Venetian world of Giovanni Bassano and Gioseffo Zarlino, moving westward to the Milan of Franchinus Gaffurius, and southerly to the Naples of Diego Ortiz.
Monday, Dec. 21; 7 - 8 pm: Living on Earth: Hope for the Holidays (Repeat)
Tuesday, Dec. 22; 10 - 11 am: In Italia: A Renaissance Christmas from Venice, Naples, Milan and Beyond (Repeat)
Wednesday, Dec. 23; 7 - 9 pm: Messiah with the PSO 2015
Handel's Messiah returns to Heinz Hall. Led by Music Director Manfred Honeck and featuring a cast of guest vocalists and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, this work is a religious story of hope, inspiration and timeless expression.
Thursday, Dec. 24; 7 - 9 pm: Concierto Christmas Special
Hosted by Frank Dominguez, hear a special holiday edition of the national bi-lingual program that features traditional Spanish language villancicos from 18th century Cuba, 19th century Uruguay, and 17th century Ecuador.
Monday, Dec. 28; 10 - 11 am: A Season’s Griot 2015
This one-hour celebration in story and song is public radio's only nationally syndicated Kwanzaa program. Hosted for nearly 20 years by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, this annual special captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples.
Wednesday, Dec. 30; 7 - 8 pm: A Season’s Griot 2015 (Repeat)
Thursday, Dec. 31; 7 - 8 pm: Capitol Steps
The American political satire group is at it again with its 2015 year in review. Bring your sense of humor for this New Year’s Eve presentation.