Gospel Orchestrated

MOBO Award-winning singer Lurine Cato MBE, Isaiah Raymond Dyer, the College of Gospel Choir and a 40-piece Brixton Chamber Orchestra come together for a major celebration of gospel music as part of Streatham Festival 2026 and Black History Month.

The concert will celebrate gospel as a living musical tradition – rooted in faith, migration, resistance and joy, and continually reshaped across African, Caribbean, British and American cultures.

Headlining the evening is MOBO Award-winning gospel singer Lurine Cato MBE, one of the UK’s leading gospel voices. Cato’s career has taken her from touring with artists including the Lighthouse Family and Kylie Minogue to recording vocals for Adele’s debut album 19. She has performed at major national events including the London 2012 Olympic celebrations and Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey, and appeared with the B Positive Choir on Britain’s Got Talent. In 2020 she was awarded an MBE for services to music and charity.

Joining her is Isaiah Raymond Dyer, founder of acclaimed UK gospel group Raymond & Co and worship collective Isaiah-Raymond & Friends. A MOBO Award winner and Dove Award nominee, Isaiah is an internationally recognised singer, songwriter and vocal coach whose work has seen him share platforms with gospel artists including Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell and Tye Tribbett.

The concert will also feature the College of Gospel Choir, under the direction of its founder Lascelles Haughton, one of the UK’s leading choir directors and vocal coaches. Founded in 2023, the College of Gospel brings singers together from across the UK to celebrate, perform and learn the foundations of gospel music.

Together they will be joined by a 40-piece Brixton Chamber Orchestra and a world-class gospel band, combining massed voices with strings, brass, woodwind and rhythm in BCO’s distinctive genre-crossing style. The musical arrangements are being provided by an impressive array of composers and producers, including some of the UK’s leading names in gospel like Nicky Brown, Ian Oakley and Alex Douglas, and BCO’s 2026 in-house composer, Blasio Kavuma.

The evening will move through old-school and classic gospel, contemporary sounds, and new music, exploring both the history of the tradition and the extraordinary influence gospel has had on popular music around the world. Brand new music by four competition-winners will also be featured. Kwasi Effah, Rachel Huggins, Rowlando Morgan & DuBetter were among dozens who submitted their original music in the Summer, and having impressed the judges, their songs will be performed by the entire orchestra and choir. For Brixton Chamber Orchestra, the concert also continues a commitment to using music to bring communities together that stretches back to the orchestra’s beginnings.

BCO founder and Artistic Director Matthew O’Keeffe was living on a Brixton estate when a fatal stabbing near his home prompted residents to come together at their local community centre. One of the most striking realisations to emerge from that meeting was how little many neighbours knew one another. As his career as a musician developed, so too did the idea that live music could provide a reason for communities to come together.

Saturday 17 October 2026, 7pm

Streatham Hill Theatre / Ruach City Church, 110 Streatham Hill, London, SW2 4RD