Top 50 Countdown

E-mails are due December 9

What are your favorite pieces of classical music? Tell us and then we’ll count down our listeners’ Top 50 between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Send us an e-mail with up to 10 favorite pieces, listed in no particular order. The deadline for your vote is December 9. The e-mail address is Classical89@byu.edu.

Christmas and Chanukah Specials

Nov. 28
8pm - A Chanukah Celebration

Dec. 4
8pm - Candles Burning Brightly

Dec. 5
1pm - The Nutcracker
3pm - Christmas with Music of the Baroque
6pm - First Presidency's Christmas Devotional (LIVE)

Dec. 6-10
9am and 4pm - Salt Lake Children's Choir at Christmas

Dec. 11
8pm - Christmas with Music of the Baroque

Dec. 12
3pm - Handel's Messiah

Dec. 13
8pm - Hygge Holiday

Dec. 14
8pm - Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain

Dec. 15
8pm - Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir

Dec. 16
8pm - A Chanticleer Christmas

Dec. 17
8pm - A Soulful Christmas

Dec. 18
11am - All is Bright
12pm - BYU Celebration of Christmas
3pm - Hygge Holiday
8pm - St. Olaf Christmas Festival

Dec. 19
4pm - St. Olaf Christmas Festival
6pm - BYU Celebration of Christmas

Dec. 20
5pm - A Soulful Christmas
8pm - All is Bright

Dec. 21
11am - First Presidency's Christmas Devotional
5pm - Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
8pm - Holiday Holiday

Dec. 22
5pm - A Chanticleer Christmas
8pm - Welcome Christmas

Dec. 23
5pm - Welcome Christmas
8pm - Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir

Dec. 24
8am - A Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols (LIVE)
1pm - Hollywood Holiday
2pm - BYU Celebration of Christmas
5pm - Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir
8pm - The Christmas Story in Words and Music

Dec. 25
9am - All is Bright
10am - Welcome Christmas
1pm - Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir
4pm - A Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols
8pm - Hygge Holiday

A Chanukah Celebration with Chicago A Cappella

Nov. 28 at 6pm

Join Jonathan Miller, artistic director of Chicago A Cappella and a longtime champion of Jewish choral music, for an inspiring and informative show featuring choral music set to Chanukah texts.

Candles Burning Brightly

Dec. 4 at 8pm

A Celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights with an exploration of Chanukah foods and traditional activities…and plenty of music. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

All is Bright: Contemplative Music for Christmas

Dec. 18 at 11am | Dec. 20 at 8pm

Lynne Warfel hosts an hour of gorgeous, contemplative choral music that tells the traditional Christmas story with songs about angels, the star and the manger scene. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

BYU Celebration of Christmas

Dec. 18 at 12pm | Dec. 19 at 6pm

Join us for this concert recorded live in BYU's De Jong Concert Hall earlier this month. Performances by the BYU Philharmonic, Singers, Concert Choir, and Men's Chorus.

A Chanticleer Christmas

12/16 at 8pm | 12/22 at 5pm

Holiday favorites, new and old, presented live in concert by the superb 12-man ensemble known as "an orchestra of voices." Playlist at yourclassical.org.

Christmas with Music of the Baroque

Dec. 5 at 4pm | Dec. 11 at 8pm

Tune in for the great works of composers like Samuel Scheidt, Giovanni Gabrieli, William Billings, Claudio Monteverdi, and many more.

Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain

Dec. 14 at 8pm | Dec. 21 at 5pm

Be transported from Christmas Eve in medieval Scotland to the folk carols and shape-note hymns at a toe-tapping Christmas gathering in Virginia in this spectacular special sharing the spirit and history of Appalachia’s Irish and Scottish roots through music.

Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

Dec. 15 at 8pm | Dec. 23 at 8pm | Dec. 24 at 5pm | Dec. 25 at 1pm

The world-renowned Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square continues its tradition of great artistry this holiday season, with touching arrangements of familiar carols, and lesser-known melodies that are fast becoming the new classics. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

Classical 89 High School Choir Competition

Dec. 13 – Spanish Fork High School | Dec. 14 – Hillcrest High School | Dec. 15 – Bonneville High School | Dec. 16 – American Heritage School

Classical 89 has invited 4 high school choirs to compete for a chance to perform on our weekly series “Sunday Inspiration.” Each choir has recorded a Christmas song in our studios, and the winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges. December 13-16 we’ll schedule one choir’s song each day at 8:06am, 12:06pm, and 4:06pm. And on December 17, we’ll announce the winner and broadcast their song again at those same times.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Dec. 24 at 8am (LIVE) | Dec. 25 at 4pm (Repeat)

The legendary music and spoken-word broadcast from the chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, England. Since 1928, this service of Biblical readings with choral and organ selections has been broadcast live by the BBC. It is now a treasured worldwide Christmas Eve tradition. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional

Dec. 5 at 6pm | Dec. 21 at 11am

Christmas messages from General Authorities and Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with music by the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.

Handel's Messiah

Dec. 12 at 3pm

In the summer of 1741 Handel was at the peak of his musical prowess, but depressed and in debt. He began setting Charles Jennens' Biblical libretto to music at his usual breakneck speed. In just 24 days, Messiah was complete. Right up to the day of the premiere, Messiah was troubled by production difficulties and last-minute rearrangements of the score. Despite these difficulties, the oratorio soon became a favorite of audiences, with a popularity that lasts to this day. Join us for a recording featuring soloists Margaret Price, Hanna Schwarz, Stuart Burrows, and Simon Estes, with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Colin Davis.

Hollywood Holiday

Dec. 21 at 8pm | Dec. 24 at 1pm

Join Lynne Warfel for a festive one-hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood's most cherished Christmas-themed movies. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

Hygge Holiday: Cozy Classics

Dec. 18 at 3pm | Dec. 25 at 8pm

Join Elena See as she plays a mix of wintry and nostalgic classical pieces designed to accompany listeners as they enjoy cozy wintertime activities. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

The Nutcracker

Dec. 5 at 1pm

The complete ballet by Tchaikovsky about Clara's magical journey to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Richard Bonynge conducts the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

Salt Lake Children’s Choir at Christmas

Dec. 6 at 9am and 4pm | Dec. 7 at 9am and 4pm | Dec. 8 at 9am and 4pm | Dec. 9 at 9am and 4pm

Join Classical 89 for selections from the choir’s 2019 Christmas concert in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Favorite carols, music from many lands, newer compositions, and lesser-known gems.

A Soulful Christmas

Dec. 17 at 8pm | Dec. 20 at 5pm

An uplifting, relevant display of Black music in the classical, gospel, spiritual, and jazz-inspired style. This special celebrates the non-idiomatic Black classical music, while exploring non-idiomatic choral traditions. Playlist at yourclassical.org.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival

Dec. 18 at 8pm | Dec. 19 at 4pm

A service in song and word that has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity. Recorded at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. Playlist at yourclassical.org.