Communities across Hertfordshire come together as the latest star of the BBC2 series The Choir, the South Oxhey Community Choir, joins Watford Philharmonic Society for its annual Christmas concert. The third series of the BAFTA award winning programme The Choir, which is to be screened next year, follows the progress of the newly-formed group, but local audiences can have a sneak preview of the South Oxhey singers in action when they appear at Watford Colosseum next Wednesday.

Series producer Dollan Cannell says conductor Gareth Malone from the London Symphony Orchestra travelled around South Oxhey this time around asking people in the local community to join the choir.

“Only a fairly small minority had seen the previous series and knew about the idea. So to most people in South Oxhey, it was fresh,” says Dollan. “In the first series, which took place at a school called Northolt High, the aim was to get kids who’d never been in a choir singing. Gareth managed to convince children at the school to join a new choir and coached them all the way to the Choir Olympics in China.

“In the second series, the focus was particularly on boys – it took place at an all-boys secondary school called Lancaster in Leicestershire, and dealt with all the cultural resistance boys in particular tend to have towards singing together and the whole idea of being in a choir. This new series is about something different again: Can Gareth’s belief that every community should have a choir at its heart take hold?”

The third series, which will most likely be on our screens by next autumn, involves six local schools and for the first time engages with adults too. Dollan says the intention is to explore whether a place with no choral tradition could embrace the idea of a choir with enthusiasm.

So how are members of the choir shaping up for their first public performance – are the nerves beginning to show?

Says Dollan: “Building up to a first public performance outside South Oxhey has definitely made many members of the choir nervous, but they are also proud of what they’ve achieved so far.

"There is a huge buzz about performing at the Watford Colosseum, a major venue with the finest acoustics in the whole of the UK, and they’re just hoping they can do themselves justice. They’ve talked about what it will be like when they hear themselves singing at the Colosseum – the legendary sound quality at that venue means they will be hearing themselves more clearly than ever before.”

South Oxhey Community Choir and St Anthony’s Roman Catholic School will join the choir and orchestra of The Watford Philharmonic Society in a mixture of well-loved Christmas songs and carols, together with some not quite so well-known seasonal pieces, and there will be plenty of opportunity for the audience to join in.

A further highlight of the evening will be a number of festive readings shared between Dorothy Thornhill, Watford’s elected mayor; Richard Chewter, the town centre chaplain; Terry James, the head of Queen’s School, and Anne Gallacher, the executive director of the Palace Theatre.

Chairman of Watford Philharmonic Society Alan Bannister adds: “We were conscious of the arts and community aspects of the society and wanted to involve others, so we invited Dorothy, Richard, Anne and Terry to take part and were very pleased when they all accepted. The pieces they’re reading include Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, a poem by John Denver, Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie and Christmas by John Betjeman.”

The Watford Philharmonic Society’s annual Christmas concert, presented and conducted by Terry Edwards, is at the Watford Colosseum on Wednesday, December 17 at 7.30pm.

Tickets: 07546 112321, www.watfordphilharmonic.co.uk