Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Announces 36th Annual Holiday Concert, SING JOY!

The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir under the direction of Terrance Kelly, is excited to present their 36th annual holiday concert, SING JOY!, the first in-person event in almost 2 years. The free concert will take place outdoors at Jack London Square's Broadway Plaza on Saturday, December 4 at 4 p.m.

The concert will feature all three Oakland Interfaith Choirs and guest artists including crowd favorites ASL interpreters Sherry Hicks and Michael Velez of Half-N-Half. Registration, now open at oigc.org/singjoy, is recommended to receive event announcements and updates directly to your inbox.

An accompanying VIP event, Jingle Mingle, is also available for purchase for $110. Guests with this ticket can enjoy catered food and drinks in the restaurant space that was previously Lungomare. Admission will also include a post-concert meet and greet with Artistic Director Terrance Kelly, Executive Director Maren Amdal, fun giveaways, and other surprises.

Preparations for the December 4 concert began in the fall with singers returning to in-person rehearsals with COVID protocols in place. "I'm so excited about the upcoming holiday concert," says Kelly, "We've worked hard these past months to dust off the cobwebs from our voices and the choir sounds amazing! We're fired up and ready to sing joy!"

The partnership with Jack London Square was timely, providing an iconic Oakland backdrop for OIGC's emergence from pandemic restrictions. Executive Director Maren Amdal explains, "After such a long time away from our audiences, we're looking forward to ringing in the holiday season and engaging with the community again with a free public event. We're so happy to partner with Jack London Square to share our music in a safe way for our audiences and singers."

The December 4 holiday concert kicks off a month of performances for the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choirs, including performances with the San Francisco and Oakland Symphonies on December 8 and 12 respectively, the Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony in Oakland on December 11, and wrapping up with the 33rd Annual Christmas Eve Concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Founded in 1986, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is a nonprofit 501(c)3 performing arts organization born out of a gospel music workshop led by Terrance Kelly at Living Jazz's Jazz Camp West. The OIGC family of choirs now includes a 75-member performance choir, 20-member youth choir, and a 180-member community choir performing under the organization's mission to inspire joy and unity among all people through black gospel and spiritual music traditions.