A Christmas Jingle: A Heartfelt Performance That Made a Difference

A Festive Evening to Remember

Encore Choirs returned this December to the beautiful St Peter’s Church in Petersfield with our latest Christmas show, A Christmas Jingle: an evening with Encore Choirs — and what a night it was. Led by our musical director Josh Robinson, the whole evening captured everything we love about being part of a fun, welcoming community choir in Hampshire. With singers from our Hampshire and Surrey choirs (Alton, Nyewood and Wickham) coming together, the church was filled with festive cheer, laughter and a real buzz.

You can listen to Petersfield’s Shine Radio

A Completely Sold Out Venue

We could not have been more excited to walk out to a full house. St Peter’s Church was completely sold out, and from the very first note, the energy in the room was incredible. Friends, family and supporters packed the venue, ready for a night of joyful Christmas music and uplifting performances.

Local Radio Comes to Join the Fun

Adding to the excitement, local radio station Shine Radio came along to experience the concert and capture the atmosphere. They spoke to members of Encore Choirs, musicians from our six piece band and Jo Dallas from Headway. Their coverage beautifully reflects the heart of the evening and the community spirit behind the event.

Listen here

Singing for a Cause

This year’s Christmas concert had an extra special purpose. We were raising money for Headway, the UK charity that supports people rebuilding their lives after a brain injury. Their work helps individuals and families find hope, confidence and community again, and we were honoured to support such a meaningful cause.
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of everyone who joined us, we raised a fantastic £1,572.85 for Headway Portsmouth and South East Hampshire. Every penny will go directly towards supporting their service users.

A Night of Music, Variety and Festive Fun

Accompanied by a brilliant six piece band (drums, keys, accordion, viola, bass and guitar), Encore Choirs performed 19 songs ranging from Christmas classics to popular hits and even a Les Misérables medley that had the audience buzzing. One of the joys of being part of a local choir in Hampshire is getting to perform such a wide range of music, and this concert truly showed how much our singers love bringing these songs to life.

A Very Special Debut: The Headway Choir

One of the standout moments of the entire evening was the debut performance of the Headway Choir, also led by Josh. Launched in January, the choir meets once a week and has become a safe, uplifting space for individuals with an acquired brain injury to experience the joy of singing together. The progress, confidence and sense of community that has developed within the group has been inspiring to watch.

Their performances of Bridge Over Troubled Water and You Raise Me Up were incredibly moving. Many in the audience were visibly emotional as the Headway Choir took to the stage for the first time. The applause that followed was warm, heartfelt and well deserved.

A Beautiful Collaboration

To wrap up the first half, both choirs joined together to perform At Christmas, an original song by Gina Hall. We were thrilled to welcome Gina to the piano for this special moment, adding a personal and magical touch to the performance.

A Night Filled with Love, Laughter and Community

A Christmas Jingle will definitely go down as one of our most memorable concerts. The atmosphere, the music, the togetherness and the generosity of our wonderful community made the night incredibly special. We’re so grateful to everyone who supported the event — our singers, our musicians, our volunteers and of course our amazing audience.

Join Us in the New Year

Encore Choirs will continue spreading joy through singing as we head into a new year of music, connection and community. If you’re looking to join a friendly community choir in Hampshire or Portsmouth, we’d love for you to come along and get involved. There’s always room for more voices in the Encore family.