Join us for a wonderful evening of Christmas music on Tuesday 2 December at 7.45pm, at St Mary’s Church, Twickenham.

What’s on the programme

Bob Chilcott’s musical celebration of the Christmas story On Christmas Night is a sequence of eight original carols that combines tradition and invention. It’s been described as comforting and reflective, jubilant, swinging and folksy.

Of course there will be familiar carols and festive music, and we’ll be inviting you to join us in singing some old favourites.

Tickets

Tickets are £15 (under-10s go free).

• Use the QR code here to get your tickets
• Or go to our page on Trybooking.com

This evening’s performers

Strawberry Hill Community Choir is always delighted to welcome up-and-coming soloists to feature in our concerts.

Tonight’s soprano is JJ Lam, our organist is Robert Mingay Smith, and we’ll all be under the direction of James Speakman.

Soprano JJ Lam

JJ says: ‘I love to sing in different vocal styles and I am a huge nerd on vocal technique.’ An experienced recitalist and choral soloist, she started performing at the age of 12.

At Trinity College, Cambridge, JJ sang in the chapel choir of under Stephen Layton. After a brief career in finance, she went on to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating in 2024.

A Scholar at St John’s Notting Hill, she’s also been the Soprano Choral Scholar at St George’s Beckenham and West London Chorus. JJ was selected as a 2025 Serena Fenwick artist with British Youth Opera. This summer, she sang in the Chorus of the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company at Buxton Opera House.

Organist Robert Mingay-Smith

Robert is considered to be one of London’s finest accompanists. He sang with VOCES8 for five years, touring the world and recording classical and jazz repertoire. Now Robert divides his time between conducting, playing the organ, accompanying and composing.

He is Director of Music at St Mary-at-Hill, London where he founded the Square Mile Music Series, a well-established concert series which attracts musicians from all over the world to perform.

Music Director James Speakman

James Speakman is Strawberry Hill Community Choir’s musical director. He is Assistant Director of Music at the London Oratory School.

Before that James was Assistant Director of Music and Chapel Organist at Stowe School. He is a prize-winning Associate of the Royal College of Organists.

James started out as a pianist, then began organ lessons at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music with Simon Mercer. He won an Organ Scholarship at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, and studied with Ian Tracey. He read music at Cambridge University, where he studied the organ with Stephen Farr, and was Organ Scholar at Corpus Christi College. He was the recipient of the John Sanders Memorial Competition for Young Composers award in 2019.

It will be a lovely evening of music in the beautiful church of St Mary’s Twickenham. Click here to find St Mary’s Twickenham on Googlemaps.

We look forward to seeing you there!

• Doors open at 7.30 and the concert begins at 7.45.