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Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to suzanne@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black and Carol Main. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry Thursday 17
Glasgow ■ RSNO: Big Band Christmas Party Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12–£32 (concessions available). See in a swinging Christmas as Eliot Murray directs the RSNO Big Band through an eclectic and enjoyably cheesy selection of seasonal tunes.
Edinburgh ✽✽ FREE Live Music Now: Maelasta National Gallery Complex,
The Mound, 624 6200. 6pm. A musical celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from the guitar and violin duo. ■ Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Cargill Sings Berlioz The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £8.50–£26. Acclaimed Scottish mezzo Karen Cargill performs La mort de Cléopâtre, a typically Berliozian brew of impassioned melodrama and melancholy, and works by Fauré and Haydn.
Ayr ■ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Christmas Classics Town Hall, Carrick Street, 01292 269793. 7.30pm. £3–£20 (concessions available). Jamie MacDougall presents a sparkling giftbox of Christmassy, and not so Christmassy, musical treats. Stephen Bell conducts. Book early.
Perth ■ The Tallis Scholars: A Renaissance Christmas Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, 01738 621031. 7.30pm. £15–£20. Relive Christmases past with the world famous Tallis Scholars, performing Thomas Tallis, Josquin Desprez, William Byrd and Praetorius.
Friday 18
Glasgow ■ Carols by Candlelight Barony Hall, Castle Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £8–£19 (£6.50–£15). Christmas fun and music with Cappella Nova and Thistle Brass, with carols and classics including the world premiere of Tom Cunningham’s A Time of Gifts, a setting of poems by Alexander McCall Smith. ■ Raymond Gubbay: Christmas Carol Singalong Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £17–£29.50. Craig Hill leads a concert that pretty much does what it says on the tin: Silent Night, Winter Wonderland, Good King Wenceslas and many more feelgood Christmas tunes means you’ll leave hoarse but happy. With the Scottish Concert Orchestra and Edinburgh Choral Union. ■ Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Cargill Sings Berlioz City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £11–£24 (concessions available). See Thu 17. Edinburgh ■ RSNO: Christmas Concert Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £12–£32 (concessions available). Get in the festive mood with the RSNO’s annual Christmas celebration, presented and conducted by Christopher Bell. Take the family along for singalong carols and Christmas classics, including the magical theme from The Snowman, narrated by the very lovely Tom Conti. FREE Faculty of Advocates Christmas Concert The Queen’s Hall,
87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 8pm. Sing along to your favourite carols and hear Christmas readings with the choir’s 14th annual Christmas concert. All donations go to the Edinburgh City Mission.
Saturday 19
Glasgow ■ RSNO: Christmas Concert Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 3pm & 7.30pm. £12–£32 (concessions available). See Fri 18. ■ The Promise Tramway, 25 Albert Drive, 0845 330 3501. 7.30pm. £8 (£5). The Novus Ensemble, Foolproof Theatre, the New Scottish Youth Orchestra and the New Scottish Youth Choir come together for a unique Christmas celebration. See www.newscottish.org for ticket information. Edinburgh ■ Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann Cameo, 38 Home Street, 0871 704 2052. 6–10.05pm. £25 (£19.50–£21.50). James Levine conducts a production of Offenbach’s fantastical final opera, based on three tales by German Romantic novelist ETA Hoffmann and directed by Tony Award winner Bart Sher. Starring outstanding international soloists Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja. Broadcast live as part of the Met’s Live in HD series. ■ Cappella Nova: Carols by Candlelight The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £8–£19 (£6.50–£15). Another sparkling musical Christmas gift from Cappella Nova, with a new festive programme. With mulled wine and mince pies on sale. ■ Edinburgh Singers: The Mystery of Christmas St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10 (£8). The Edinburgh Singers’ annual Christmas concert features music by Howells, Lauridsen and Poulenc as well as a handful of carols. ■ Jubilo: Christmas Concert Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, 2251900. 7.30pm. £tbc. A choral Christmas concert at Greyfriars. ■ Le Jardin Secret: In the Still of the Night St Cecilia’s Hall, Niddry Street, 668 2019. 7.45pm. £14 (£5–£11). Travel back to Christmases past with Baroque vocal ensemble Le Jardin Secret, in a concert of noëls by Delalande, Charpentier, Daquin and Balbastre and settings of traditional and anonymous English carols. Presented by the Georgian Concert Society.
Glamis ■ Chansons Carol Concert Glamis Castle, Glamis, 01307 840393. 7.30pm. £20. The Perth-based choir presents a programme of festive song in the sumptuous 17th-century drawing room, with refreshments and mulled wine on offer in the interval. Booking essential.
Sunday 20 Glasgow ■ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Christmas at the Movies City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 3pm. £10–£23 (concessions available). Nothing sets the festive mood like a good Christmassy movie, and the BBC SSO’s hugely popular annual concert presents the glitzy best of seasonal Hollywood film music. Presented by Jamie MacDougall and conducted by Stephen Bell. FREE Kelvingrove Sunday Organ Recitals Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Argyle Street, 276 9599. 3pm. Sunday promenade concerts with different organists. FREE Christmas Carols and Readings Cleveden Secondary School, 42 Cleveden Road, 6.45pm. Traditional carol service. ■ Christmas Cracker Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £16–£25. A fun evening with the City of Glasgow Chorus and
Orchestra as they perform festive favourites, popular classics and music from stage and screen, featuring everything from White Christmas to a Les Miserables medley to a raucous Mamma Mia singalong.
Edinburgh ■ Children’s Classic Concerts: Let it Snow The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 1pm & 3pm. £9 (£5); family ticket £26. Owen and Olly present an all singing, all dancing Christmas cracker of a concert with the help of the National Youth Choir of Scotland Training Choir and the Manor School of Ballet. ■ Christmas Carols in the Great Hall Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 668 8885. Included in admission: £11 (concessions £8; children £5). 1 pm, 2pm & 3pm. Enjoy some splendid seasonal songs in the magnificent surroundings of Edinburgh Castle's Great Hall. ■ Raymond Gubbay: Christmas Classics Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 3pm. £13.50–£30. Several local ensembles come together for a classical Christmas extravaganza for the family, performing festive favourites such as Adolphe Adam’s gorgeous O Holy Night along with popular classics including Handel’s powerful Zadok the Priest. FREE Christmas Organ Recital Reid Memorial Church, 182 West Saville Terrace, 662 1203. 4pm. Jeremy Cull performs a seasonal selection of organ works. ■ Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. Retiring collection. With St Giles’ Cathedral Choir. Dundee ■ A Renaissance Christmas by Candlelight with Cantiones Sacrae St Salvador’s Episcopal Church, Church Street, 01382 434940. 7.30pm. £7. Enjoy some Renaissance style entertainment with the a cappella singers.
Monday 21
Glasgow ■ Glasgow Philharmonic Male Voice Choir RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £12. Choral Christmas concert. ■ Raymond Gubbay: Christmas Classics Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £17–£29.50. See Sun 20. Edinburgh ■ Thistle Music Canongate Kirk, Royal Mile. 7.30pm. £10 (£5). An evening of Christmas music.
Tuesday 22
Glasgow ■ Bothwell Philharmonic Choir RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £12. Christmas concert, with special guests the Gorgie Salvation Army Band. ■ Raymond Gubbay: Carols by Candlelight Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £17–£29.50. The full rococo experience as the bewigged, frock-coated orchestra performs elegant seasonal classics in a candlelit hall, including Bach’s Air on the G String and Gruber’s Silent Night. Then you can sing along with some favourite carols. Edinburgh ■ All This Time St John’s Church, Princes Street, 668 2019. 7pm. £8 (£5). CoroEdina, Edinburgh’s newest chamber choir, presents works by Poulenc, Rutter, Bruckner and Howells, as well as traditional carols, in an atmospherically candlelit church. ■ Raymond Gubbay: White Christmas Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £13.50–£30. The Consort of Voices and Scottish Concert
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✽✽ Live Music Now: Maelasta Playing the ‘Sherlock’ violin (pictured) made by Edinburgh master craftsman Steve Burnett from the wood of a diseased sycamore tree on which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle played as a boy growing up in Edinburgh’s Liberton area, the violin and guitar duo perform music with resonances of the writer’s most famous detective. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Thu 17 Dec. ✽✽ Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Viennese New Year Concert Romanian conductor Nicolae Moldoveanu has a true Viennese touch when it comes to Strauss, Strauss and more Strauss. Waltzing into 2010, these Viennese classics appear in the lively company of Tchaikovsky, Falla and Offenbach. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 1 Dec. ✽✽ NYOS New Year Concert Adventures at Sea is the inspiration for the New Year’s first concerts by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland who revive one of the most successful commissions in their history, John McLeod’s symphonic poem The Gokstad Ship which was first heard in 1982 when the orchestra was in its infancy. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 3 Dec; Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Mon 4 Dec.
Orchestra are joined by soloists Jacinta Whyte and Matt Little for more Christmas songs than you can shake a piece of tinsel at, featuring ‘Let it Snow’, ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and plenty more.
Wednesday 23 Glasgow ■ Raymond Gubbay: White Christmas Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £17–£29.50. See Tue 22.
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