ChoirBLAST Christmas Celebration
Saturday 12 December 2026
Godalming Minster (St Peter & St Paul's), Church Street, GU7 1EW
5pm to 6.30pm · Family Show
Local children's, school and youth choirs, plus the ChoirBLAST Community Choirs
7pm to 9.30pm · Evening Concert
Adult choirs from across Godalming and beyond
Mulled apple · Mince pies · Raffle · Christmas merch
Tickets £7.50. Children under 16 and carers go free (please still book a free ticket)
Book at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/choirblast-120306856941
ChoirBLAST Christmas Celebration
Christmas is a time for coming together, and what better way to celebrate than by singing together?
ChoirBLAST's Christmas Celebration is a joyful community event bringing together local choirs, singers, volunteers and supporters to celebrate the power of group singing at Christmas.
Taking place at the beautiful Minster, the celebration will showcase the wonderful variety of choirs involved with ChoirBLAST, while giving guests the opportunity to meet members of the charity's funded community choirs and hear more about the difference that group singing makes to people's lives.
Because ChoirBLAST believes that singing is about much more than music.
The power of singing together
There is a growing body of research into the social and psychological benefits of group singing. A 2022 study of a large community choir programme found that participants experienced a strong sense of connection, belonging, inclusion and sharing, with these positive social and psychological experiences contributing to their overall wellbeing.
Other research has found similar themes. Studies of community singing have identified benefits including improved mood, confidence, social support and a stronger sense of identity and belonging.
The evidence is not suggesting that singing is a magic cure for loneliness or poor mental health, and researchers are rightly cautious about making claims that go beyond the evidence. What it does suggest is that the experience of making music together can create the conditions in which people feel more connected, more confident and more part of their community.
And that is at the heart of what ChoirBLAST is trying to achieve.
Building happier, healthier and more connected communities
As a rapidly growing local charity, ChoirBLAST is committed to making group singing accessible to everyone and using music to build happier, healthier and more connected communities.
Its community singing programme reaches people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to sing together, supporting choirs in a range of settings and working with communities with very different needs and experiences.
The charity's growing programme includes funded community choirs, including groups supporting people experiencing mental health challenges and other health conditions. ChoirBLAST is also now beginning to venture into dementia choirs, recognising the particular value that singing can bring to people living with cognitive decline and to those who support them.
Recent research into group singing and cognitive decline describes it as a promising approach for supporting wellbeing and social connection among older adults.
The principle remains the same across all of these groups.
Everyone deserves the chance to experience the joy of singing together.
A celebration of the ChoirBLAST community
The Christmas Celebration is an opportunity to bring that community together in one place.
Alongside performances, guests will have the opportunity to meet members of ChoirBLAST's funded community choirs, hear more about the projects taking place across the local area, meet volunteers and supporters, and browse ChoirBLAST merchandise.
It is also a chance to recognise the people who make the charity's work possible.
Choir leaders give their time, energy and musical expertise to bring people together week after week. Volunteers help with everything from organising events to supporting individual choirs. Funders and supporters make it possible for ChoirBLAST to take singing into communities where it can make a real difference.
And then there are the singers themselves.
They are the reason the charity exists.
Every person who walks into a choir rehearsal, picks up a song sheet, joins in with a warm-up or discovers that they can sing a little more confidently than they thought they could is part of the story ChoirBLAST is trying to create.
Why Christmas?
There is something particularly powerful about singing at Christmas.
Many of the songs we sing at this time of year are woven into our memories. A few notes can transport us back to childhood, school concerts, family celebrations or Christmases spent with people who are no longer with us.
And Christmas music is inherently communal. Whether it is a traditional carol, a gospel arrangement, a favourite pop song or a piece of beautiful choral music, singing it with other people changes the experience.
For some people, Christmas can also be a difficult or lonely time of year. Community events can provide a reason to come together, meet people and feel part of something.
That is why the Christmas Celebration is about more than a concert.
It is about community.
It is about recognising what happens when people are given the opportunity to make music together.
And it is about celebrating everything that ChoirBLAST's singers, choir leaders, volunteers, funders and supporters have achieved during the year.
Looking ahead
The charity continues to grow, with new community singing projects developing across the local area and more opportunities being created for people of all ages and abilities to experience group singing.
The Christmas Celebration offers a chance to pause and recognise how far that work has come, while looking ahead to what comes next.
It will be warm, inclusive and festive, with plenty of opportunities for the Mayor to meet the people who make ChoirBLAST's work possible and experience first-hand the spirit of community that lies at the heart of the charity.
And, of course, there will be plenty of singing.
Because ultimately, that is the simplest and most powerful thing about ChoirBLAST.
Bring people together. Give them a song. See what happens.
This Christmas, we invite you to be part of it.
