On Saturday afternoon, members of the Annapolis Chorale meandered around the aisles of Nordstrom in Westfield Annapolis mall.

Until they heard their cue.

That's when the nearly 50 members of the group slowly gathered and starting singing Christmas carols as part of a flash mob in the popular store.

Flash mobs generally include large numbers of people coordinating a performance in a public area and seemingly spontaneously singing or dancing. Those performances are typically arranged online and the results shared on the Internet.

Katherine Hilton, director of marketing and development for the Annapolis Chorale, said the group did a similar flash mob at the store last year and were invited back by the store manager this season.

She said last year the group performed only “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.” But this year, they extended their performance with several songs and aimed for more audience participation, Hilton said.

The performance and the idea to include the shoppers in more of a singalong was Ernie Green's, the chorale's veteran musical director.

"The people just loved it," Hilton said. "They just clapped and applauded."

If you didn't happen to be shopping at Nordstrom during the flash mob, the Annapolis Chorale has several performances scheduled for this weekend.

The chorale will be performing selections from "Messiah" at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in downtown Annapolis at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday.