Illuminate the Holidays with Classical Radio Boston

From Messiah to The Nutcracker and beyond, let holiday music ring out this season! We're playing festive favorites for Christmas and all the winter holidays this December on 99.5 WCRB, on In Concert, The Bach Hour, and The Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights include:

Illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration!

GBH Music and Emmanuel Music showcase the radiant spirit of J.S. Bach's music for the season, including his Christmas Oratorio.

Sunday, Dec. 7, 7pm: In Concert with the Handel and Haydn Society

Hallelujah! Handel and Haydn Society's "Messiah"

On WCRB In Concert with the Handel and Haydn Society, Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen leads the H+H Orchestra, Chorus, and a slate of spectacular soloists in a centuries-old Boston tradition.

Listen • 2:12:25

Sunday, Dec. 14, 7pm: In Concert with GBH Music

"Illuminate Bach," with GBH Music

On WCRB In Concert with GBH Music, celebrate the season with a festive concert showcasing the radiant spirit of J.S. Bach’s music, performed by Emmanuel Music.

Listen • 1:01:34

"Illuminate Bach" will also air on GBH 2 on December 19th at 9pm, GBH 44 on December 20th at 8pm, and twice on December 25th: on GBH 2 at 4pm, and on GBH 44 at 6pm. View a full TV schedule here.

Sunday, Dec. 21, 7pm: In Concert with The Boston Pops

Holiday Pops 2025!

On WCRB In Concert with the Boston Pops, Keith Lockhart leads a celebration of the season, featuring a touching interpretation of Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” and a special appearance by a particular very jolly fellow!

Listen • 1:38:01

Sunday, Dec. 28, 7pm: In Concert with the Celebrity Series of Boston

Pianist Beatrice Rana, from Celebrity Series of Boston

On WCRB In Concert with the Celebrity Series of Boston, Rana brings her storytelling prowess and expressive piano playing to two well-loved ballet suites: Prokofiev’s "Romeo and Juliet", and Tchaikovsky’s "Nutcracker" suite.

Listen • 21:32

Sundays, Nov. 30 - Jan. 4, 6am: The Bach Hour delves into J.S. Bach's six-part narrative for the season, the Christmas Oratorio, in a concert performance led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Hear Part Four on demand:

Episodes

The Power of a Name in Part 4 of Bach's Christmas Oratorio

On The Bach Hour, the simple act of naming unlocks a transformation in the fourth of the composer's six-part narrative for the season.

Listen • 56:27

Looking for continuous holiday music? We have three different 24-hour streams filled with the most beautiful classical holiday music. Listen here, in the player at the top of our homepage, on your smart speaker, and in the CRB Classical app.

WCRB's Perfect Holiday Party Soundtrack - Traditional holiday favorites that keep your mood festive and warm. From "Winter Wonderland" to "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas" to "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and everything in between.

WCRB's Ultimate Holiday Classical Mix - All of the traditional classics, plus carols from across centuries and around the globe.

WCRB's Heavenly Holiday Classics - From baroque to renaissance and beyond, this stream features choral and symphonic masterpieces, like Handel’s Messiah, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, and more.

To listen to our holiday streams on Amazon Alexa:

Go to Amazon.com or open your Alexa app on your phone and search for WCRB Holiday streams and click enable. Then the following voice commands will work.

Say "Alexa, Open WCRB Holiday Streams."

Once the skill is enabled, you can say:

"Play Perfect Holiday Party," or
"Play Ultimate Holiday Classical Mix," or
"Play Heavenly Holiday Classics."

It will also prompt you with a menu of the three stream options.

There is currently no Google Home skill for the holiday streams.

Explore holiday music with selections from our blog!