Rehearsals are in full flow ahead of the city-wide Dundee schools Christmas concert.
Christmas at the Music Centre will return on Sunday for the first time since 2019, due to interruption from the pandemic.
Taking place at the new venue of Morgan Academy, the event will bring together up to 250 pupils from every mainstream secondary school in Dundee and some of the primaries.
Dundee Schools Musical Theatre (DSMT) will sing together as a choir, along with nine different musical groups all playing Christmas favourites and carols.
Groups include wind ensembles, the concert band, Ceol Dun Deagh, rock bank and pipe band. Pupils involved range from P6 to S6.
Phil McGregor, education support officer for music, performing arts and culture for Dundee City Council, says there’s something for everyone.
“It’s really eclectic,” he said, “A mix of styles from pipe band to rock band and everything else in between – and it’s all Christmassy.”
The city’s trad group will do a traditional version of Fairytale of New York and Dundee Schools Pipe Band will perform We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Jingle Bells.
DSMT will perform One More Sleep by Leona Lewis, amongst other things.
Phil added: “Everyone involved can’t wait, it’s such a fun event and one people really look forward to.
“It’s relaxed and the performers all wear Christmas jumpers and festive clothing – there’s no school uniforms.
“The hall can hold 300 and it will sell out. Tickets are not available to the public because all the kids get them, it’s for friends and family.”
The event has been running for several years, formally hosted in the Music Centre on Bell Street, which is how the concert got its name.
After the centre closed, the first Christmas concert was held at Coldside Campus, on Alexander Street, but the venue was not big enough to accommodate the number of performers and guests.
Due to the pandemic, this is only the second time the event has been held since the Music Centre’s closure.
Conversation