A charming Christmas concert with a twist... Just what is 'choireoke'?

A community Christmas choir in Leeds will perform a series of festive concerts with a difference to raise money for the West Yorkshire Destitute Asylum Network.

- by Jennifer Cartwright

The Chapel Allerton Baptist Community Choir will perform their Christmas 'choireoke' gigs throughout the month of December (Credit: Olivia Johnston Photography)

(Olivia Johnston Photography)

The Chapel Allerton Baptist Community Choir plan to perform three 'choireoke' concerts across December where the audience has an opportunity to sing with the power of an entire choir behind them.

For a £1 raffle ticket, audience members can enter themselves to win the chance to perform a song from a catalogue of holiday classics including Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) and Last Christmas as well as carols such as Hark! the Herald Angels Sing and Silent Night.

Choir director Jim Muckelt said: "It will be a little bit like doing karaoke down in your local bar, except for the fact that now you have an entire choir behind you as well as the backing track.

"It's an opportunity to try something that you wouldn't get anywhere else."

The idea is a chance to raise money for the West Yorkshire Destitute Asylum Network, a network of individuals and organisations aiming to improve support for asylum seekers experiencing poverty in West Yorkshire.

The choir chose this charity because they see a parallel between the experience of refugees and the original meaning of Christmas.