The winter concert at Christ Church Highbury

A HIGHBURY church hosted a winter concert with a twist this week, featuring protest songs from around the world performed by a choir whose members are survivors of torture.

Instead of carols, the repertoire at Christ Church Highbury on Wednesday night included Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come and the union anthem Bread and Roses, sung by the Islington community choirs Mixed Up Chorus and Sing for Freedom.

“The idea is, how can music bring us together to make the world better?” said Holly Jones, co-director of the charity that runs both choirs, Together Productions.

“There is something about standing next to each other and singing in harmony that really connects you to someone. When you sing, you make yourself a bit vulnerable, because you’re opening your heart, in a way. People get very connected and choirs become a very important part of their life.”

Mixed Up Chorus began as an inter-faith choir more than a decade ago, and Sing for Freedom was originally set up by a group of torture survivors before Together Productions took them both under its wing.

The choirs represent dozens of nationalities, with many of them asylum seekers and refugees, and in Sing for Freedom alone there are at least 12 different languages spoken, many of which the choir also sing in.

“Lots of our singers face real challenges, particularly those who are here seeking sanctuary and have experienced really horrendous things,” said Ms Jones, adding: “The climate at the moment is pretty hostile, with an escalation of negative stories in the press about immigration. We’re interested in giving more of a positive side – it’s a haven of people coming together and being joyful and kind to one another.”

While some members pay to take part, Together Productions subsidises other singers with membership and travel costs.

Musical director Ellen Muriel

And though the choirs are “radically inclusive” – you don’t have to be good at singing – their performances are high quality, Ms Jones noted, citing sold-out gigs at Union Chapel, the Barbican, and a show at Windsor Castle that even got the King singing.

“We’re being force-fed this narrative that we’re destined to be divided,” she added.

“I think people from all over the world, some of them from very troubled backgrounds, making this beautiful sound together, is very powerful. It really gets you, and it’s needed in the world more than ever.”

• The Mixed Up Chorus and Sing for Freedom choirs are holding free taster sessions in January for anyone interested in joining. Book your place at www.togetherproductions.co.uk/events