Annual Christmas concert being held at St Martins

Charities to benefit from festive concert.

On Friday 20th December 2013 St Basil’s will join forces with St Martin in the Bull Ring to host their Annual Christmas Carol Concert from 12.30-1.30 pm for local people and busy passers-by who may not otherwise get the chance to attend a Christmas service.

This will be the tenth annual Christmas Carol Concert arranged by local composer Gordon Thornett and the event has very much become a favourite on the city’s Christmas events calendar. This year’s concert will feature choral and instrumental music by Vivaldi, including his setting of the Gloria, and a beautiful movement from one of his well-known Four Seasons.  As usual the programme will include some well loved carols for the audience to join in, as well as performances from the Sutton Coldfield Chamber Choir and Bournville Strings. The concert will end with a rousing performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

Every year the concert is held in aid of local charities St Basil’s and St Martin’s Church. St Basil’s works with 16-25 year olds across Birmingham who are homeless of at risk of becoming homeless and offer advice and support to over 5000 vulnerable young people per year. They also provide a range of supported accommodation for those in a housing crisis and support all residents to access learning, training and employment opportunities. St Martin in the Bull Ring Church is open to the diversity of the local community, offering opportunities to be listened to, for prayer, retreat, art exhibitions, art workshops, concerts, therapy, groupwork, counselling or simply for people to come in for some quiet contemplation or refreshments in the Tea Lounge. St Martin’s are active in the Winter Night Shelter project and the Birmingham Christian Homeslessness Forum, as well as participating in many other projects and campaigns locally and internationally. St Martin’s; the building, mission and ministry, depend entirely on donations.

Admission to this event is free but it will include a collection taken at the end of the concert with monies raised being equally donated to support these two local charities.