Gospel choir on a holiday roll
The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is ready to kick off another busy Christmas season.
The acclaimed choir will pursue its long-standing mission — to inspire joy through Black gospel and spiritual music — with a full slate of programming through the month of December.
One of the big highlights will be the 36th annual Holiday Concert on Saturday.
“It is going to be a ‘scooping’ good time,” says the choir’s artistic director, Terrance Kelly, referencing a moment in the concert where choir members “actually scoop up joy.”
The concert features all three of Oakland’s interfaith choirs and takes place at Jack London Square in Oakland. That’s a change of venue for the holiday event, which usually happens at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The move to the outdoor space was prompted by COVID-19precautions, Kelly says. (Last year’s holiday concert was a virtual affair due to the pandemic.)
Details: 4p.m.; admission is free, but donations are greatly appreciated; advance registration is recommended; oigc.org.
And there’s more: Other upcoming Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir events include Holiday Soul with the San Francisco Symphony featuring Yolanda Adams at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.; $35-$175; www.sfsymphony. org); the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at Jack London Square on Dec. 11 (6 p.m., free); the annual Let Us Break Bread Together concert with the Oakland Symphony at the Paramount Theatre on Dec. 12 (4 p.m.; $15-$65; www. oaklandsymphony. org); and the 33rd annual Christmas Eve Concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco (7 and 9:30 p.m.; $18; gamh.com).
— Jim Harrington, Staff