Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Presents 37th Annual Holiday Concert, STILL STANDING

The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (OIGC), under the direction of Terrance Kelly, is excited to present their 37th annual holiday concert, STILL STANDING. After pivoting through a couple of years of virtual and outdoor events, the Bay Area's beloved holiday concert will be presented in-person at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center's Grand Auditorium on Saturday, December 3, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert will maintain its tradition featuring the three primary ensembles of OIGC's now eight ensembles: Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Oakland Interfaith Youth Choir, and Oakland Interfaith Community Choir. Guest artists this year will feature familiar faces including the exuberant Miss Jackie Tolbert and JaCoree Prothro, plus accomplished artists Josh Carter and Kathi Mills. ASL interpreters Sherry Hicks and Michael Velez of Half-N-Half will return for another joyous year.

Tickets for STILL STANDING range in price from $30-$100. An accompanying pre-concert VIP event, Jingle Mingle, is included with the $100 ticket and includes light food and drinks and a meet-and-greet with Founding Artistic Director Terrance Kelly, Youth Program Director La Nell Martin, and Executive Director Maren Amdal. Fun giveaways and other surprises are also planned. A livestream option is available for $15. Tickets are on-sale now at www.oigc.org.

New this year is the Yuletide Youth Concert taking place on Saturday, December 3 at 2:30 p.m. Following the acquisition of the Oakland Youth Chorus, the Yuletide Youth Concert was created to feature five ensembles with singers ages ranging from five to 18 years old-Oakland Youth Chorus ensembles under the direction of La Nell Martin; the Oakland Interfaith Youth Choir, currently celebrating its 25th year; and an inaugural performance from the newest and youngest ensemble, the Oakland Interfaith Kids Choir, led by longtime OIGC singer, Isa S. Chu.

Both concerts will include OIGC's signature song "Joy to the World" arranged by Terrance Kelly. Audiences will be invited to scoop up joy at the close of each concert.

General Admission for the Yuletide Youth Concert are $25 with discounts for family and community groups. Tickets are available now at www.oigc.org. Purchase tickets to both the afternoon and evening concerts and save $5 per ticket to the Yuletide Youth Concert with the coupon code 2SCOOPS.

The December 3 holiday concerts kicks off a month of performances for the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. After two years, OIGC is also enthusiastic about returning to its South Bay venue at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts on Thursday, December 22, and celebrating Christmas Eve (December 24) at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. For more information and ticket links to all of OIGC's events, visit www.oigc.org/events.

Founded in 1986, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is an award-winning 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. In the summer of 2022, OIGC acquired the Oakland Youth Chorus, enhancing its youth program. The OIGC family of choirs is now 8 ensembles made up of more than 300 singers, all helping to realize the organization's mission to inspire joy and unity among all people through black gospel and spiritual music traditions.

For more information on OIGC, visit oigc.org

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