With the festive season fast approaching Harrow Choral Society is making final preparations for its Christmas concert in Harrow School Speech Room. The Christmas Celebration on Saturday, December 14, has all the ingredients of a perfect start to the festivities: seasonal music old and new, a superb historic setting, a celebrity guest reader and a good helping of audience participation to add to the mix.

This year the choir will be joined by Rita Tushingham, who shot to fame in 1961 for her role in A Taste of Honey, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. As well as giving seasonal readings during the concert, Rita Tushingham will nominate a charity to receive money raised from the retiring collection.

Chairman Peter Miller said: “There is something very special about our Christmas celebration. The Speech Room is a unique venue and it’s always a great pleasure to perform to the capacity audience which this concert attracts. We have some really wonderful Christmas music on the programme and of course it’s very exciting to be able to welcome Rita Tushingham as our reader this year.”

The Mayor of Harrow, Councillor Parekh, will also join the audience in the Speech Room for what promises to be a wonderful evening of words and music.

The conductor is HCS Music Director Simon Williams and the 100-strong choir will be joined by Elysian Brass.

The Speech Room, Harrow School, High Street, Saturday, December 14, 7.30pm. Details: 020 8863 7830 harrowchoral.org.uk