Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and all good wishes to you

On Wednesday, December 25th, it's my pleasure to present WXXI’s annual Christmas morning special from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. 

I inherited the privilege from my late colleague and friend Richard Gladwell, who for decades, poured himself into crafting a beautiful playlist every Christmas morning. He was such an inspiration! 

This year, some of Rochester’s most incredible musicians will share gifts in exclusive arrangements of carols recorded at WXXI just for this broadcast; they include flutist Bonita Boyd, guitarist Nicholas Goluses, trumpeter Herb Smith, and lutenist Deborah Fox of Pegasus Early Music.  RPO principal clarinet Kenneth Grant, soprano Andrea Folan, cellist Steven Doane, and harpist Kathleen Bride will offer their warmest wishes for a holiday full of love and glorious music, including works by Bach, Handel, and Mendelssohn. 

Thank you for listening, thank you for supporting classical radio all year 'round, and thank you to all the Classical 91.5 listeners and WXXI colleagues who have already sent in pictures of their trees.

Steve Beun writes that his son Josh put all the music ornaments in one spot.  "We have a music section on our tree. The violins, oboe, clarinet, trombone, trumpet & pianos are all grouped together. Clearly we leave little to the imagination."

John Chichester sent in this cheerful duo with warm wishes for everyone at WXXI:

Mary Thomas Wilkins sent a picture of a piano man, made by Evelyn Edman many years ago.

WXXI afternoon host Mona Seghatoleslami has a few musical ornaments, too.

If you send a picture of your music ornament, I'd be happy to add it to the gallery.

And great music doesn't stop after December 25th . . .

Thursday, December 26   Let's wake with fantastic variations on an old rhyme, a ritual fire dance, a scary wolf and boy hero.  

Friday, December 27   We’ll revisit Jeff Tyzik’s smashing Gershwin recording with the RPO and pianist Jon Nakamatsu, Mozart’s exquisite clarinet concerto, and electric music for electric cars.  

Monday, December 30    Wake up to a Lehar premiere in Vienna ...The Merry Widow, music for a New Year’s Eve Ball, a Hungarian Dance by Brahms.

Tuesday, December 31   Happy  New Year’s Eve!  We'll revel in the achievements of classical newsmakers and an incredible year, celebrating Eastman students performing at the President at the 2013 Inauguration, Renée Fleming’s receiving a National Medal of Arts, and Jeff Tyzik’s major commission for the 100^th anniversary of the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester.  We’ll sample stunning new recordings from the Ying Quartet, Christopher Wilke, and Brooklyn Rider; we’ll mark two sad milestones, the untimely deaths of composer Douglas Lowry and pianist Tatiana Tchekina. 

Wednesday, January 1    Welcome 2014!  Wake to fresh new music and performances from artists slated to appear in Rochester in 2014: James Galway, Leon Fleisher, the Pacifica Quartet, and Nicholas Phan, to name a few.

Thursday, January 2   We’ll sail into the morning with seafaring music by Vaughan Williams and C.V. Stanford and Scheherazade, a dazzling and colorful orchestral suite by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Friday, January 3   Haydn’s clever good-bye symphony, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, and a countryside suite infused with British charm.