The Suspicious Cheese Lords are one of the more original acts in the local classical music world. An all-male choir founded by countertenor Clifton “Skip” West in 1998, the group has made a name for itself singing Renaissance polyphony in its original format, for all male voices, without the usual transposition and rearrangement needed to adapt much of this music for choirs of mixed voices. For its Christmas concert this year, this Saturday at 7 p.m., the ensemble returns to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center (3900 Harewood Rd. NE), the scene of its private performance for Pope Benedict XVI last April.

The concert is titled “In dulci jubilo” after one of the pieces on the program, which will also include Renaissance Christmas motets by Brumel, Handl, Palestrina, and Victoria. Modern fare includes Biebl’s famous setting of the Ave Maria for male voices and a new setting of the text O magnum mysterium by George Cervantes, one of the group’s founding members. Some medieval chant and some Spanish and Polish carols, the latter in honor of the venue’s namesake, round out a concert that will hit all of the usual Christmas buttons without repeating too many of the predictable chestnuts heard all too often this time of year.

While you are there, the JPII Cultural Center is a beautiful place to visit, and at the moment that includes a special exhibit of 300 nativity scenes from around the world (on display through January 27), as featured by the ever-effervescent Holly Morris on FOX5 earlier this week. The concert is nominally free, with a donation of $20 encouraged, and is to be followed by a reception of food and wine, always a good way to inspire that holiday cheer.