Marking a decade of Oxford Gospel Choir

‘It’s inspirational, joyful and uplifting!” When it comes to describing the appeal of her choir, Jules Francis is in no doubt as to why it has become one of the biggest musical groups in the county.

This weekend the Oxford Gospel Choir celebrates its 10th anniversary, with a pair of shows. For Jules and other members of the choir, it’s the perfect opportunity to show off their talents — and enjoy themselves.

“It’s great medicine. It makes you happy and reduces stress,” she smiles.

Jules has sung with the choir for its full decade, seeing it grow from just 15 singers to more than 100 now. Up to 80 of those will join tomorrow’s performances at St John the Evangelist Church, in Iffley Road, Oxford, and Saturday’s concert at the Arlington Arts Centre in Newbury. The concerts will raise money for the Headington-based bereaved children’s charity SeeSaw.

“It was quite small when I took over,” she says. “But it has grown a lot, which is amazing. And we have quite a turn-around of members, with people coming for a term, leaving to try something else and maybe coming back. But there’s also a real core who come every week.”

The choir practises each Tuesday at Wesley Memorial Church in New Inn Hall Street. And while much of the repertoire comes from devotional or spiritual songs, it is not restricted to those of the Christian faith — or even those with previous singing experience.

“The choir has people of all faiths, abilities and all ages, which is what’s so fantastic,” she says. “It is uplifting music with a Christian nature, but you don’t have to be a Christian to enjoy it. It’s not affiliated to any church, and while a proportion of the singers are religious, many others are not religious at all. It’s a real mix.

“It’s a musical community made up of people from all walks of life who come together because they love to sing and love the soulful, inspirational music we perform. It’s inspirational, joyful and is about spreading a message of peace and happiness.”

She said membership was diverse — ranging from absolute beginners to experienced session singers. “We have so many people from different cultures and are probably the biggest and most multi-cultural choir in Oxford. I don’t know any others with 100 singers, and we the only gospel choir that’s open to anyone of all abilities.”

She adds: “We have a surgeons, architects, stay at home mums and retired people and many people who have never sung before have come along and are singing solo. We don’t ask our members to read music or have auditions. As long as you’re over 18, you’re welcome.”

Jules, who works for the musical education charity Soundabout, said she was inspired to sing after watching the Whoopi Goldberg film Sister Act. Many of the songs from the movie and its sequel have found their way into the choir’s repertoire — among them Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Ben E King’s Stand By Me, and the 18th-century hymn Oh Happy Day, made famous after being recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1969.

Other choir favourites are Kool & the Gang’s Celebration, Earth Wind & Fire’s September and more up to date tunes such as Emeli Sande’s Heaven or this year’s hit Happy by Pharrell Williams.

“It’s a mix of stuff the audience knows and others that are new,” she says. “There’s a wide range. We are not a one-trick pony — but people will know most of the popular numbers and will be able to sing along and dance to them too.”

She said the choir had been bolstered by the surge of interest in singing caused by shows like BBC 2’s the Choir, starring Gareth Malone.

“People are thinking more about joining choirs,” she says. “If anything encourages people to sing, I’m all for it. It’s fantastic.”

The concerts will also feature performances by the Oxford Gospel Events Choir, which performs at weddings, parties, festivals and Cowley Road Carnival. Its members have even taken to the stage at the New Theatre as backing singers for Susan Boyle and Peter Andre.

“Both were lovely,” says Jules. “Susan Boyle was great; you can tell she loves performing and she shows how wonderful music can be, whatever struggles you have in your life. “Peter Andre was very different but was also really appreciative of our talents and the time it took to learn his songs. The choir loved it and we hope we might get asked to join him again when he comes back this October.”

The real stars on stage at this weekend’s performances though will be the members themselves, and the four-piece band which accompanies the singers.

“It’s a new thing for us,” says Jules. “We’ve never done a tour like this before and both are new venues. We want to see energy and audience participation if they want to. The music is so infectious that its hard not to stand up and join in. It’s as much about the audience as the choir.

“We want our audience to go away feeling happy and uplifted,” she says. “The rehearsals are sounding great — and it’ll make for a knockout performance. Expect toe-tapping rhythms, delicious harmonies and boundless enthusiasm!”

Oxford Gospel Choir
For more information on joining, visit oxfordgospelchoir.co.uk or email info@oxfordgospelchoir.co.uk