Festive pop-ups

Festive pop-ups run across four Saturdays at Cowdray Hall in the Aberdeen Art Gallery, starting on 28 November and continuing through 5, 12 and 19 December. Each afternoon, a different local choir takes the lead, so the sound changes from one week to the next. The setlist stays in the same territory throughout: traditional carols and festive favourites, the kind of songs that most of us know by heart.

The line-up is a good cross-section of the city's singing scene. The Granite City Chorus kicks things off on 28 November, followed by the Aberdeen Gaelic Choir on 5 December. Albacappella takes over on 12 December, and the Aberdeen Performing Arts Community Choir closes the run on 19 December. Because it's a different group every time, you can drop in for one Saturday or come back for a few if you fancy hearing how different choirs handle the same carols.

Cowdray Hall is a concert venue inside the gallery, which is an Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020 winner with a collection spanning more than 700 years. The building itself is neo-classical, designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and opened in 1885. Cowdray Hall came later, part of a 1920s extension that also brought the interior Remembrance Hall and the exterior Cenotaph, all from the original architect. Between 2015 and 2019, the gallery went through a major redevelopment led by Hoskins Architects.

Each session runs at 12:30pm and 2:30pm, so there are two slots every Saturday if you want to catch them twice in one day. Entry is free, and the pop-ups are set around the Christmas tree, so it's as much about gathering as it is about the singing. With the four dates spread across November and December, you've got plenty of choice on when to turn up.