🎄 The Christmas Project and Clare Wheeler – Live at St John’s Church, Godalming
📅 Friday 12 December 2025 | 🕗 20:00 – 22:00
📍 St John’s Church, Farncombe, Godalming GU7 3EJ
THE CHRISTMAS PROJECT AND CLARE WHEELER FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST AMENA
The Christmas Project is an exciting international band led by recording artist and an internationally touring Dutch jazz vocalist, Henk Kraaijeveld , and pianist Jan Willem van Delft, recording artist and well established in the gospel and jazz scene in the Netherlands.
Featuring many well known Christmas tunes , the arrangements also combine musical styles from all over the world, and brings together Henk and Jan’s love for jazz, gospel, vocal polyphony and Christmas music!
The band also features UK vocalist Clare Wheeler, a renowned composer, arranger, singer, and educator who has toured with the five-time Grammy-winning vocal group The Swingles and whose impressive performing career includes collaborations with artists like Jamie Cullum, Labrinth, and Jacob Collier, and appearances on TV and radio programs such as Pitch Battle and The Choir.
Following the success of Comfort & Joy, The Christmas Project’s debut album, Henk Kraaijeveld and Jan Willem van Delft joined forces with Clare Wheeler to present a moving new arrangement of the 16th-century English song The Coventry Carol. Telling the story of the Massacre of the Innocents from Matthew’s gospel, it reflects the mothers’ grief at King Herod’s decree to K*ll all boys under two – a tragedy that still resonates today. This haunting yet bittersweet reimagining blends English and Arabic lyrics in a tender lullaby, featuring the intricate vocals of London-based Egyptian singer Amena Elabd and a global virtual choir whose participants donated to Save the Children, raising over £2000 in just a few weeks. The track will be released in early November 2025 and their performance at our Christmas Concert will be the premiere of this release!
Also featuring one of the UK’s most in-demand jazz drummers, Steve Brown, with local jazz anchor Marianne Windham completing the line-up on double bass.
It’s been said many times before: music connects people all over the world and Christmas is THE time of the year that brings people together all over the world.
“We grew up with this tradition and love to connect with people from various cultural and musical backgrounds. Through these elements we believe we become more human. Among the great treasure of songs we selected the ones that speak to us most through their joyful melodies and comforting lyrics. And gave them a little twist here and there.”
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