APM Presents - Classical Specials
A Passion for Bach and Coltrane with the Imani Winds
Jeff Scott’s Grammy winning oratorio is full of inspiration from two giants of music - Johann Sebastian Bach and John Coltrane. Passion for Bach and Coltrane with Imani Winds is an innovative and surprising confluence of classical and jazz. Scott is the founding horn player of Imani Winds, and along with the Harlem Jazz Quartet, jazz soloists, and spoken word by AB Spellman, Passion for Bach and Coltrane offers an intimate perspective on Imani Wind’s most personal recording in their 25 year history. UPDATED FROM 2024
One hour
Broadcast Window: August 24, 2026 - September 30, 2026
Music for the Days of Awe: An Observance of the Jewish High Holidays
At this time of year, Jews around the world gather together to celebrate new beginnings. Host Mindy Ratner guides us in a musical observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, known in Hebrew as Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe. Listen now to Music for the Days of Awe: An Observance of the Jewish High Holidays. Encore from 2023
One hour
Broadcast Window: September 1, 2026 - September 30, 2026
Sarojini
Experience a groundbreaking fusion where classical music traditions of South India and the West meet. featuring composer Shruthi Rajasekar. Hailed as "the most exciting piece of new music for choir and orchestra" by Canadian critic Natasha Gauthier, Sarojini (pronounced sa-RO-ji-ni) brings world-renowned Indian musicians Nirmala Rajasekar and Thanjavur K. Murgaboopathi, the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers, and Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra together in a thrilling soundscape that tells the story of India's fight for independence from the British Empire.
One hour
Broadcast Window: September 1, 2026 - September 30, 2026
Underground Noise
Picture a mushroom. What color is it? What kind of a texture does it have? Do you know how it smells and tastes?
How about what it sounds like? Strange as that question may be, there are many creative answers to it. Underground Noise invites you to the soundscape of the fungal world. From jaunty tunes about cooking mushrooms, to atmospheric strains from actual fungi, join host Mya Temanson for a special that might just shift the way you see — and hear — the world.
One hour
Broadcast Window: September 1, 2026 - November 30, 2026
Creepy Classics
Join Jake Armerding for the best creepy music from the concert stage, film, and opera.
One hour
Broadcast Window: October 16, 2026 - November 3, 2026
Songs of Thanks
Join us for "Songs of Thanks," by Cantus. Through their signature narrative programming, the acclaimed octet will weave together stories and songs celebrating gratitude and community. Featuring commissioned work from composer Damien Sneed to help build your Thanksgiving songbook.
One hour
Broadcast Window: October 31, 2026 - November 30, 2026
River Carry Me Home: Thanksgiving with the American Sound
Rivers are special, many even considered sacred. They carry rain from fields and replenish the sea. They wander as watery conduits from one point to another, sometimes even between exile and home. Like rivers, our lives, too, are wandering—and as the 17th-century Japanese wandering poet Bashō wrote, the journey itself is home. As we gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving, enjoy an hour of music that reaches the heart of what it means to wander through the world like a river carving its course, and what it means to come home.
One hour
Broadcast Window: October 30, 2026 - November 30, 2026
Candles Burning Brightly
A delightful hour for everyone to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights! New for 2026
One hour
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2025 - December 31, 2026
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
O MORNING STAR, O RADIANT LOVE: 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, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra. New for 2026
Two hours
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2026 - December 31, 2026
A Chanticleer Christmas
It wouldn’t be the holidays without Chanticleer at Memorial Church. San Francisco’s treasured men’s vocal ensemble creates a new Christmas program each year, activating the church’s gorgeous acoustics to create a feeling of community and serene beauty. Featured a new work, Winter's Garland, a three-part choral song cycle co-commissioned from composer Joanna Marsh and poet Jane Draycott. New for 2026
One hour
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2026 - December 31, 2026
In Winter’s Glow
A winter night program, with modern classical sounds for the longest nights of the year, chosen especially to compliment the chilly, starry nights of the season. Encore from 2025
One hour
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2026 - February 1, 2027
Welcome Christmas
Embrace the wonder of the season as VocalEssence continues its cherished tradition of welcoming Christmas in song. Hear sounds of the season from around the globe performed by four VocalEssence choirs, brass, guitar, percussion, and pipe organ. Feel the holiday spirit move through you as you lend your voice to joy-filled sing-alongs that will leave you feeling uplifted, festive, and ready to celebrate the season. New for 2026
One hour
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2026 - December 31, 2026
Hearth: Christmas with the Miro Quartet
Gather 'round the fire with Houston's award-winning Miro Quartet and Performance Today host Valerie Kahler for an hour of cozy memories and inventively re-imagined music for the season.
One hour
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2026 - December 31, 2026
Sound of Cinnamon
What does hygge mean to you? Maybe it means friendship, laughter, or more concrete things like warmth, light, seasonal food and drink. It might make you think of sitting by the fire on a cold winter night, wearing your favorite oversized sweater, reading a book, and sipping cinnamon tea. In the special, "The Sound of Cinnamon," Jake Armerding invites you to experience coziness and contentment with a hygge sound track perfect for finding your favorite pair of slippers and putting your feet up. Encore from 2025
One hour
Broadcast Window: November 16, 2026 - February 1, 2027
2026 Remembered from the Current
Join The Current in honoring the life, music, and legacy of artists we lost this year with 2026 Remembered from The Current. This two-hour musical tribute is a celebration of all sounds - from indie to influential - and the perfect way for music lovers to unite in paying homage to the artists who have shaped music history.
Each hour is discrete, so stations can opt to air one or two hours.
Two hours
Broadcast Window: December 15, 2026 - January 17, 2027
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Since 1918, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has offered listeners an opportunity to share in a live, worldwide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of biblical readings, carols and related seasonal classical music. This special event is presented by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys, and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the college’s 500-year-old chapel.
Two hours
Broadcast Window: December 24, 2026 - December 25, 2026