To be held on 19 November 2025
To start our seasonal celebrations, musician and broadcaster Sandy Burnett shares his selection of much-loved Christmas tunes. Expect an hour of the finest festive music from across the globe – his selections include sparking moments from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, a heartwarming ballad from Mel Tormé, something from Soweto, a heavenly chorus from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Leipzig, an illustration of the English carol tradition at its finest – and something more cynical from Eartha Kitt…
Sandy Burnett
Sandy is one of the UK’s most versatile music commentators, enjoying a career that combines broadcasting, performing and lecturing; he was appointed the Academy of Ancient Music’s Hogwood Fellow for the 2018-19 season. After studying at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and working as music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in London’s West End, Sandy Burnett spent a decade as one of the core team of presenters on BBC Radio 3. He has directed a complete performing cycle of Bach’s sacred cantatas and is a first-call double bass player on the London jazz scene. Since 2013 he has devised and led cultural holidays all over the world, taking music lovers to venues as diverse as the opulent Leipzig Opera House and the intimate jazz clubs of New Orleans. He runs an online classical music appreciation Listening Club and is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music.