Join WRTI as we ring in 2020 live from Broad Street with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Paula Johns Quintet.
Festivities kick off at 6 pm with Maureen Malloy sharing our favorite live jazz sessions from our performance studio in 2019— and the party won't stop until Toast of the Nation shuts it down at 6 am.
Of course the fun continues at 11 am on New Year's Day when you'll waltz into 2020 with the Vienna Philharmonic and then more waltzing with The Philadelphians if you missed the live broadcast the night before!
Here's the full schedule:
December 31st
6:00 pm - New Year’s Eve Live with WRTI!
Tune is as we share our favorite WRTI studio performances from 2019. It was a full year of great live music and we can’t wait to share these exclusive WRTI performances.
7:30 pm - New Year’s Eve Live with WRTI and The Philadelphia Orchestra
Gregg Whiteside is your host as guest conductor Bramwell Tovey leads the Fabulous Philadelphians in a special LIVE concert broadcast from the Kimmel Center. Ring in the new year with a glass of bubbly and a hundred of your closest friends playing some of the finest classical music to be found anywhere. You'll hear works by Gershwin, Anderson, Brahms, and, of course waltzes by J. Strauss Jr.!
9:30 pm (approximately) - New Year’s Eve Live with the Paula Johns Quintet at SOUTH
The new year’s eve party continues with host J. Michael Harrison ushering in the new year with vocalist Paula Johns and her extraordainary band. We guarantee you’ll be swinging into the new year!
1:00 am - Toast of the Nation Jazz Special
Toast of the Nation is the perfect audio complement for the occasion. It's festive jazz you can party to, all night long. This year we are featuring some of the best jazz collectives playing today. We'll hear the Baltimore Collective recorded live at The Keystone Korner, The Michael Leonhart Orchestra at The Jazz Standard, The SFJAZZ Collective in San Francisco and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York City.
January 1st
9:00 am - The Crossing @ Christmas
WRTI invites you to experience The Crossing chamber choir’s 2019 Christmas concert, The Crossing @ Christmas, recorded live at The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. This annual performance is known for creating an aura of tranquility, and has become a holiday tradition for many vocal music lovers throughout our region. This concert features David Lang's Pulitzer-winning 2008 composition the little match girl passion, and Spectral Spirits, a world premiere by Edie Hill.
11:00 am - New Year’s Day from Vienna 2020
The Vienna Philharmonic, conducted this year by Andris Nelsons, presents its ever-popular annual New Year's Day concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. You'll hear your favorite waltzes, polkas and more — a great way to start off the New Year.
1:00 pm - New Year’s Eve Philadelphia Orchestra Concert (encore live broadcast from previous night)