For 2007, we've created a one-hour Echoes of Christmas broadcast. With host Brian Newhouse, Dale Warland guides listeners through his favorite selections of the season. It is a mix of familiar carols (the most beautiful arrangement of "Silent Night" you're likely ever to hear) and a striking performance of Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols.” But you can also expect a surprise or two as Warland introduces composers like Janika Vandervelde and Russell Platt who create gorgeous contemporary pieces that gracefully capture the essence of Christmas.

Dale Warland grew up in the fields of northern Iowa, singing every day in a one-room schoolhouse and every week in the nearby country church. This was the simple beginning to one of the great careers in American music. His virtuoso 40-voice choir, the Dale Warland Singers, became his ‘voice’ to convey the many ways of celebrating Christmas. In this program, treasured old carols sit alongside brand new arrangements and commissioned pieces, and the hour’s centerpiece is the Benjamin Britten classic, "A Ceremony of Carols."

Broadcast program:

David Willcocks (arr.): Sussex Carol (On Christmas Night)
Kathy Kienzle, harp

Dale Warland (arr.): What Child Is This?
Linda Chatterton, flute, Nikki Christopher, harp

Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols
Kathy Kienzle, harp

Russell Platt: Pray to What Earth
Judy Kogan, harp

Janika Vandervelde: O Viridissima
Jay Johnson, percussion

William Beckstrand: So Gracious Is the Time
Judy Kogan, harp, Jay Johnson, percussion

Stephen Paulus (arr.): The First Noel

Fred Prentice & Carol Barnett (arr.): Sing We Now of Christmas
Judy Kogan, harp

Malcolm Sargent (arr.): Silent Night

The Dale Warland Singers were America's premiere a capella choir for over three decades, and more than 20 of those seasons were graced by a remarkable event, their annual Echoes of Christmas concert. Hundreds of public radio stations carried the program each holiday season, and listeners far from the Singers' home base in Minnesota were captivated by the choir's warmth and virtuosity. For 2006, we've created a one-hour best-of-the-best Echoes of Christmas program. With host Brian Newhouse, Dale Warland guides listeners through his all-time favorite selections. It is classic Echoes: a mix of familiar carols (the most beautiful arrangement of "Silent Night" you're likely ever to hear) and shimmering masterpieces like Herbert Howells' "Long, Long Ago." But you can also expect a surprise or two as Warland introduces a new composer like America's Frank Ferko who creates gorgeous contemporary pieces that gracefully capture the essence of Christmas.

Broadcast program:

"Wonder Tidings", by Stephen Paulus
"Long, Long Ago", by Herbert Howells
"A Festival of Carols", by Frank Ferko
"Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine", Traditional German Carol
"Gabriel’s Message", Traditional Basque Carol

The 2004 Echoes of Christmas concert features three world premieres, all of which have been written by talented composers from within the Dale Warland Singers organization. The Singers' composer-in-residence, John Muehleisen, offers the first premiere of the concert with "This Night", the text of which comes from an ancient collection of Scottish poems. Singer Abbie Betinis will present a dynamic new piece, "Cedit, Hyems" (Be Gone, Winter!), and Matthew Culloton, librarian, music advisor and bass section leader, delivers "God's Mother Be", his first original composition for the ensemble.

Broadcast program:

Traditional: "Sussex Carol"
Traditional: "What Child Is This?"
Traditional: "The First Noël"
FRANCIS POULENC: "Four Motets for Christmastime"
FRANK FERKO: "A Festival of Carols"
JOHN MUEHLEISEN: "Invocation"
ERIC WHITACRE: "Lux Aurumque"
ABBIE BETINIS: "Cedit, Hyems"
MATTHEW CULLOTON: "God's Mother Be"
Traditional: "Still, Still, Still "
Traditional: "Ding, Dong, Merrily on High"
Traditional: "Silent Night"

Jeffrey Van arr.: "Medieval Carol"

Daniel Pinkham: "Come, Love We God"

Frank Ferko: "A Festival of Carols" (world premiere)

"The Angels Song"
"Go, Tell It on the Mountain"
"The Sky Can Still Remember"
"Do You Know the Song that the Angels Sang"
"Christmas Bells"

Herbert Howells: "Long, Long Ago"

Steven Heitzeg: "Little Tree"

Alf Houkom: "When Christ Was Born of Mary Free" (world premiere)

Dale Warland arr: "Coventry Carol"

Dale Warland arr: "What Child is This?"

Franz Gruber, arr. Malcolm Sargent: "Silent Night"