Rock, carols and conductors… HELEN MUSA’s got the arts covered in this week’s Arts in the City column. 

THE Choirboys have been a staple of Australia’s rock ‘n’ roll landscape since their inception in 1978 and, 40 years on, their rock anthem, “Run To Paradise” is as popular as ever. Over lockdown they’ve put down a nine-track vinyl compilation album “Feels Good” and a new original single release, “Home Free”. The band will perform at the Royal Hotel, Queanbeyan, on Thursday, December 16. Book at royalhotelqbn.com.au

THE Luminescence Chamber Singers and Luminescence Children’s Choir will sing carols from Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, South America and Australia at the Wesley Uniting Church, December 17-19. Book at luminescence.org.au

ON the same weekend, “Ave Maria” and “The Magnificat” will be performed by Luminescence in versions by Robert Fayrfax, Michael Praetorius and Josquin Desprez. Also at Wesley Uniting Church, 6.30pm, Saturday, December 18, book at luminescence.org.au

CANBERRA’S Tasnim Hossain is one of nine new writers commissioned by Critical Stages Touring for its second season of “Come to Where I Am – Australia”. Produced as 10-minute video postcards performed on location by the writers in the region they are writing about, the dramatic snapshots will screen at criticalstages.com.au on December 8 and 15.

CONDUCTOR Leonard Weiss, who has been busy carrying out his NSW Orchestral Conducting Fellowship, has just conducted his first gig with Sydney Youth Orchestra over three days of recording music at Trackdown Studios and filming overlooking Sydney Harbour. He’ll join Max McBride to rehearse with SYO at Sydney Domain on December 11 and 12 next months as part of “SYO Activate”.

ROWAN Harvey-Martin will conduct “An Evening of Fairy Tales” with the new ACT Youth Orchestra at the National Portrait Gallery, 7pm, Wednesday, December 8, book at trybooking.com