In a rare festive performance the Thames Philharmonic choir will be delivering their first Christmas concert for years in Surbiton tonight.

At the refurbished St Andrew’s Church, they will be singing a varied selection of seasonal classics and more unusual numbers, including music from Handel’s Messiah, Bach and Vaughan Williams.

Jackie Morgan, an alto in the choir, said: “We do not often do an actual Christmas concert, so it will be both unusual and interesting for us, and make a change from what we usually do.”

Morgan has sung with choirs for most of her life, she said: “I love singing Christmas carols. I really miss it.

“It is a wonderful thing to do, and I know from experience that audience members get frustrated if they can’t sing along, so we will be inviting them to sing at our concert.

“Christmas is not Christmas if you don’t have Christmas carols.”

The soloists at the concert will be Katherine Crompton, a soprano, and Morgan Pearse, a baritone, who are both postgraduate students at the Royal College of Music.

Renowned former Royal Choral Society chorus master, John Bate, will be conducting. Scholar of the prestigious Trinity College of Music, he has performed at venues such as King’s College, Cambridge, and throughout Europe.

Morgan said: “Everyone says it is a fabulous place with really great acoustics, and somewhere really nice to sing now.”

She added: “I hope people will enjoy the variety of music we are singing, it is quite a lovely programme, all in what is a very nice ambience.”

The concert starts at 7.30pm, with an open rehearsal at 2.30pm. Adult tickets cost £12, concessions cost £10.

To book call the box office on 07522 524081, or visit thamesphilchoir.org.uk.