Holiday

‘Shine: A Summer Solstice Celebration’ highlights composers and musicians who celebrate this glorious season and will inspire listeners to celebrate the longest day of the year. Listen now with host Melanie Renate.

'Dreams of the Fallen' recognizes and memorializes through music and poetry those who have protected our country — often at great sacrifice — from before its founding to the present. Listen now to this tribute to U.S. military heroes.

Join John Birge in this joyful hour of music for chorus and orchestra that captures the spirit of Easter and the rebirth of spring. ‘Song of Joy: The Mendelssohns’ features choral settings by siblings Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, showcasing their enormous talent and culminating with a festive ‘Hymn of Praise’ based on Psalms and other biblical texts.

The beloved holiday of Passover, which runs April 5 to 13, commemorates the Exodus of the Jewish people from enslavement to freedom. Join host Adam Fine for ‘Melodies of Freedom,’ a musical celebration of Passover that explores the power of music to bring people together. Listen now.

For the first time since 2015, the North Dakota State University Challey School of Music performed its annual holiday tradition ‘Messiah’ at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Minneapolis in late 2022. Listen now to that performance for Easter.

In Ireland, the instrument almost always missing from a traditional Irish music ‘session’ is the piano, but Irish music is increasingly championed and performed by classical pianists. Join Andrea Blain for “Irish Music and the Piano: From Shebeen to Stage,” an entertaining and ear-warming special filled with Irish folk and traditional tunes transcribed, arranged and composed for piano.

The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin performs an Irish lullaby that dates from 1904.

As we celebrate Presidents Day, the presidential anthem, “Hail to the Chief,” might come to mind. But how did this little ditty come to be associated with the "leader of the free world" — and how American is it?

There are many different versions of ‘The Snow Maiden,’ but this one reminds us to treasure winter as a special time of year instead of always wishing for warmer weather. Find out more in the latest episode of YourClassical Storytime, featuring storytelling by Valerie Kahler, music by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and illustrations by Nancy Carlson.

Over three days in mid-November, the Voces8 Scholars, the U.S.-based training ensemble for the U.K.’s esteemed Voces8, recorded two Christmas songs prepared exclusively for YourClassical MPR listeners as part of our Carol Countdown. Watch now!