Starting December 2, Classical Minnesota Public Radio listeners can feast their ears on a full buffet of spectacular performances this holiday season with on-air specials almost daily, showcasing great regional artists alongside international performers.

Musical features range from annual regional traditions, from the Luther College Christmas Concert, the St. Olaf Christmas Festival and Christmas at Concordia to the international delight, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, England. Many of these programs will also be distributed to hundreds of public radio stations nationally by American Public Media.

Programming highlights include:

St. Olaf Christmas Festival
Sunday, December 2, 3:30-5:30 p.m. and Friday, December 14, 8-10 p.m.

Welcome Christmas! by VocalEssence
Monday, December 10, 7-8 p.m. and Sunday, December 16, 1-2 p.m.

The Rose Ensemble: Christmas in Elizabethan England
Monday, December 10, 8-9 p.m. and Friday, December 21, 7-8 p.m.

Concordia College Christmas Concert
Wednesday, December 12, 7-8 p.m.

Luther College Christmas Concert
Monday, December 17, 8-10 p.m.

Echoes of Christmas with the Dale Warland Singers
Tuesday, December 18, 7-8 p.m. and Sunday, December 23, 1-2 p.m.

The Minnesota Orchestra: Messiah
Friday, December 21, 8-10 p.m.

TUNE IN: Holiday programming will be broadcast on Classical Minnesota Public Radio stations regionally, including on KSJN 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities, and streaming on www.mpr.org.

For a complete schedule of Minnesota Public Radio's on-air specials, visit www.mpr.org and click on Holiday Programming in the Programs menu.

Minnesota Public Radio® operates a 37-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio, operating as American Public Media,™ reach more than 15 million listeners nationwide each week. Of those, more than 800,000 listen regionally, in Minnesota and surrounding states. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.mpr.org and www.americanpublicmedia.org.

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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc., Nationwide and PSA data. Arbitron data are estimates only. Fall 2006/Spring 2007 average