Even though it’s been getting colder, the nights are now lit up with sparkly lights, and the mulled wine is back on the menu, I still haven’t been feeling that festive of late. So I decided enough was enough and that I’d have to do something about it! On Friday I visited Wesley Memorial church to watch ‘Christmas with the Oxford Gospel Choir.’

The Oxford Gospel Choir, now in their 14th year, is an unauditioned community choir who perform Gospel music in and around Oxfordshire. The choir, which has between 90 – 140 members, consists of a variety of beliefs and ages, and sing in a range of styles, from traditional and contemporary gospel to popular chart songs. They also have the auditioned Events Choir, who perform at events all over the UK.

Dressed in colourful scarves and ties, a sea of people danced onto the stage. They were accompanied by a live band which consisted of a pianist, a bassist and a drummer. The MC, Choir Secretary Sarah Hargreaves, introduced the show, and was great at stirring the crowd up to get us excited for what was to come.

The set list was a good mixture of songs, with some popular classics and some more festive tunes. First up in Set 1 was ‘Keep Moving’, followed by Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary,’ which really got the crowd going. The singers were brilliant and the acoustics, along with the live band, were excellent.

Up next, ‘Khumbaya’ was a beautifully-arranged piece, with notable performances from the baritones/ basses who held the piece together wonderfully with their deep voices.

My favourite piece in this set was ‘You Will Be Found,’ sung by the Events Choir. The lyrics are highly emotional, and looking around, there weren’t many dry eyes in the place. This tied in nicely with a brief talk about the charity Restore, a mental health charity that the choir are supporting this year.

Finishing the first set was ‘Joy To The World’ which was really needed to boost everyone up again before the interval.

The second set was started with ‘A Star Is Born,’ followed by ‘God is My Everything’ and an alternative arrangement of ‘Away in a Manger.’ My favourite piece in the set was the two-part‘Blinded by your Grace,’ recently popularised by Stormzy.

The choir finished with ‘Joyful Joyful,’ the Sister Act gospel classic, and an upbeat rendition of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You.’

Overall, it really was a fun and festive evening, filled with emotion and laughter. I will definitely be attending again next year as a way to get me into the Christmas spirit!

The audience needed no warming up as they settled in to the evocative setting of the Wesley Memorial Church, and there was something of a convivial buzz developing even as we took our seats. Many present, I suspected, were return visitors to what has become something of an Oxford tradition, and I felt I was about to be welcomed in to a sort of warm and reassuring confidence.

A portion of the 102-strong choir took the stage for the first number, a soulful rendition of ‘This is Me’ during which the remaining members strode full-throated down the dual aisles, creating a wonderful surround-sound introduction to their collective voice.

The Oxford Gospel Choir pulled off something quite tricky alongside proving themselves to be in very fine acoustic fettle. They managed to come across as absolute consummate professionals with commanding vocal presence, while also being community-spirited, human and in reach.

All dressed in black and with the women wearing beautiful coloured neck-scarves and the men decked out in matching coloured neckties, the choir were visually arresting while their voices naturally took the main stage. Soloists would flash a smile as they were welcomed up to the front to lead each number, and a sense of pride and of joy were conveyed by all throughout the performance.

The event was rounded off with the donning of fake antlers, silly glasses and the like, for an encore rock version of ‘Run Run Rudolph’, but before that ‘lapsed members’ were enthusiastically welcomed up on stage for a powerhouse performance of ‘Ain’t No Mountain’ led by soloists Jill Ward, Claire Ousey and Hannah Jago. They flitted up from their seats to join in from the wings, a spontaneous testament to the closeness between choir and audience at this lovely Christmas event.

Perhaps it was this closeness, as well as the outstanding vocal presence of the choir, which carried the festive spirit so well. It may be that the confidence this sense of connection brought the choir emboldened them to range as far and wide in song choice as they did, well beyond the focus on Christmas carols I had been expecting.

There were tips of the hat to the old standards, but always with a twist - a wonderful staccato rendering of ‘Hark the Herald’ being the standout amongst these. Yet the set encompassed a huge range of traditions and styles, brought lovingly into a Christmas Gospel context, including a stunning version of Primal Scream’s ‘Movin' On Up’, ‘Baba Yetu’ performed in the original Swahili, and the emotively charged ‘Joy’, with soloist Emily Groves, and ‘I Feel Your Spirit’ led by outstanding soloists Kelly Blok, Eberechi Anucha, Rachel Murphy and Emma Dearman.

In true festive spirit all refreshments in the interval were provided free of charge and donations were taken throughout the evening for the very worthy charity Myeloma UK. We left walking about a foot above the ground, and they have won at least one new convert, as my wife, the lovely Lorena, is now planning to join up in the New Year.