Blue Christmas
The Elvis number, sung in harmony. It suits a drinks reception or an office party, programmed between the traditional carols.
Christmas carol services
Professional choirs for companies, venues, and churches
Offices and companies book us first: the annual carol service, the gala dinner, the client drinks reception. The same choirs sing in hotels, at residents’ Christmas evenings, in livery halls, at charity carol concerts, and at private parties. Carol bookings start with four voices in full harmony, and run up to twelve, unaccompanied or with an organist.
This page covers structured carol services and concerts. If you want singers moving through a party or a lobby instead, hire carol singers.
Trusted by law firms, banks, charities, and City livery companies. Musicians from the Royal Academy, Royal College, and Britain’s leading conservatoires.
Included with every booking
One flat price, and a team chosen for your occasion.
- A one-to-one music consultation with our Artistic Director, Luca Wetherall (Tutor in Music, University of Oxford), who plans your repertoire with you.
- A handpicked ensemble, matched to your occasion. We choose every singer for you, never send whoever is free from a rota.
- All rehearsals, preparation, and sheet music.
- We coordinate with your venue or office.
- A written quote, confirmed before you commit. No hidden fees.
From £1,150 for a small choir of four, all in. Travel within Greater London included.
How it works
1
Tell us about your event
Share the date, venue, format, and any preferences. We send a proposal within 48 hours.
2
We plan the programme
Luca finalises the repertoire and coordinates arrival, positioning, and technical requirements with your venue.
3
We perform
Musicians arrive in concert dress, set up without fuss, and perform to the brief.
What we provide
A carol service, a gala dinner, a drinks reception, and an office party each want a different shape. A carol service usually calls for a full choir of eight with an organist. A drinks reception works better with four singers alternating traditional carols and a cappella arrangements of popular Christmas songs. A formal dinner may need one voice for a sung grace and a single set piece.
Where the singing happens changes the answer as much as the occasion does. In a hotel lobby or an atrium, three or four short sets across an evening suit the flow of guests better than one long concert. At a residents’ Christmas evening, a song sheet and four carols the whole building can join in on does more than a recital. A livery hall wants a sung grace and a short formal set before the loving cup; a ticketed charity concert wants a printed order of service and readers between the carols.
Luca Wetherall, our Artistic Director, discusses your event with you or your event coordinator, then sends a proposal with ensemble options and a programme outline. We handle all coordination with your venue or event manager. Our musicians arrive in concert dress, set up without fuss, and perform to the brief. If you would rather they wore all black, ordinary clothes, or Christmas jumpers, say so and they will.
Beyond the music, we can help organise the wider event. We assist with finding and booking a venue, printing programmes, and arranging refreshments — so you can hand off as much or as little of the planning as you like.
Our clients include law firms, banks, charities, schools, and City livery companies across London and the UK.
For company Christmas parties, awards dinners, and year-round corporate events, see also our corporate music page.
“We hire the London Choral Service for our annual carol service every December. The choir knows the building, the format, and exactly what we need. Our partners and clients look forward to it each year.”
“The choir were the highlight of our Christmas drinks. They moved through the crowd singing carols and it completely transformed the atmosphere. Several clients have already asked if we’re doing it again next year.”
Carol services in churches
Companies, charities, and livery companies often book a church for an evening in December and then need musicians to fill it. You settle the date with the incumbent; we supply the choir and, where the building has a decent instrument, an organist who has played it before. If the church has no organist of its own, or theirs is already committed that week, ours covers the hymns, the carols, and the voluntaries at either end.
The first thing we agree is which carols the congregation sings and which the choir takes alone. Four singers will lead a room of 150 through Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; eight will carry a church of 400. In between those, the choir sings the pieces a congregation cannot: the Willcocks descants, Poston’s Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, an unaccompanied Gaudete. Six of each is the usual balance for an hour.
The running order is yours to choose. A liturgical service follows the Nine Lessons and Carols pattern from King’s College: a bidding prayer, nine readings from scripture, a carol after each, a blessing at the end. A secular running order drops the prayers and puts a chief executive, a patron, or a beneficiary in the reading slots instead, usually with the appeal placed before the last carol. Either runs to about an hour.
We deal with the building direct. Vergers control access, heating, lighting, and how long you get in the church before the doors open; clergy will want to see the order of service if any liturgy is involved. We contact them once the booking is confirmed and send you the arrival and rehearsal times rather than asking you to broker it.
Accompaniment is a separate decision from the size of the choir. The singers can perform a cappella throughout, which needs no instrument and no amplification and is the usual answer in offices and hotel lobbies. In a church we would normally send an organist, added to any choir for £225. At a reception or a party, a pianist can support the singing, or we can send a choir with background piano between the sets, where the pianist covers the gaps and the singers come back in for each set. If the venue has no piano at all, we can bring a keyboard and speaker for an extra charge, quoted upfront in your written quote.
Who we work with
Several of these audiences have a page of their own, covering what each one tends to ask about first.
Hear our musicians
The first recording is from a Christmas set. The hymns below it were taken from services we sang rather than from a carol programme, but they are the same singers and the same sound you would hear at a carol service.
Be Thou My Vision
A 6th-century Irish hymn, usually sung to the melody Slane. The organ lifts the final verse.
Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer
The great Welsh hymn, sung to Cwm Rhondda. The congregation joins in whether they planned to or not.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Cecil Frances Alexander’s hymn about the natural world, light and easy to sing along with.
Pricing
Flat prices, no hidden fees. Luca discusses your event with you, builds the programme, and coordinates with your venue.
£1,150
Small Choir (4)
£1,600
Sextet
£2,000
Full Choir
£3,000
Chorus (12)
Carol bookings start with a Small Choir of four at £1,150; a soloist is available for a sung grace or a single set piece at a dinner. Prices include all taxes, fees, and travel within Greater London, and we do not charge more at Christmas than at any other time of year. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day carry a premium, which we confirm in the written quote before you commit.
Christmas music guides
Longer reading on the parts of a carol event that take the most working out.
Planning a carol service
Planning a corporate carol service
Office carol service planning
Nine Lessons and Carols: order of service & planning
Planning a charity carol concert
Carols by candlelight
Hiring a choir for a church carol service
Choosing the music
Christmas carols guide
The best carols for four voices
A cappella Christmas songs
Carol lyrics and what they mean
Advent carols vs Christmas carols
Hiring singers
Hiring a Christmas choir
How many carol singers you need
Best Christmas carol singers
How much carol singers cost
When to book Christmas entertainment
Booking carol singers: agency vs direct
By event and venue
Frequently asked questions
How late can we book a choir for a carol service in December?
Most years our December dates go by the middle of September, and the first three weeks of the month are the tightest. We do take later bookings when the right combination of singers is still free, so it is always worth asking. Send us the date and we will confirm availability the same day.
What music does the choir sing at a Christmas carol service?
All the traditional carols, from Once in Royal David’s City to O Holy Night, and a cappella arrangements of popular Christmas songs for receptions and parties. Luca builds the programme around your running order and marks which carols the room sings and which the choir takes alone.
Can the choir roam around the venue or sing outdoors?
Both work. The singers can move through a lobby, a drinks reception, or a switch-on crowd, or stay in one position for set pieces. Dress is your call: concert dress, all black, casual, or Christmas jumpers, and we have Santa hats if you want them.
What happens if the venue has no piano or organ?
Nothing changes. The choir sings a cappella and needs no instrument and no amplification. If you would rather have keyboard accompaniment, we can bring a keyboard and speaker for an extra charge, quoted upfront in your written quote so there is no surprise on the invoice.
How much does a Christmas carol service cost?
We charge no Christmas uplift, so the standard prices apply. A Small Choir of four is £1,150, a sextet £1,600, a full choir of eight £2,000, and a chorus of twelve £3,000, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and travel within Greater London. A standard booking runs up to 1.5 hours including breaks, or the length of a church service; longer bookings carry a premium, quoted upfront. Full pricing is on our pricing page.
Are you available on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
Yes, we sing on both, including carols by candlelight on the 24th. Those two dates carry a premium, typically around 25 per cent, confirmed in the written quote before you commit to anything. They are the first dates to go each year, so ask early.
Can you sing a carol service in a church we have booked?
Yes. You arrange the church and the date with the incumbent, and we bring the choir and, if you want the carols accompanied, an organist who knows the instrument in that building. We deal with the clergy and vergers direct on rehearsal access, seating, and the running order.
Who will I be booking with?
The London Choral Service is the trading name of Alma Consort Ltd, and that is the company name you will see on your booking confirmation and invoice.
Tell us about your Christmas event
Share a few details and we’ll come back to you with a proposal. We respond to every enquiry personally.
Thank you — we’ll be in touch shortly.
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“Organising a carol service for 300 people felt daunting but Luca handled everything. The programme was perfect — traditional enough for the older partners, fresh enough that it didn’t feel stale. Superb.”
Text us on WhatsApp for the fastest reply, or call us on 07356 042468
We respond to every enquiry personally, usually within a few hours.