My mother was truly my saving grace, because she would take me to church with her. I would see my mother smiling in the choir, and I wanted to know this God that made her so happy. If I had not had that faith in my life, I don’t know where I would be right now.

I love to hear a choir. I love the humanity… to see the faces of real people devoting themselves to a piece of music. I like the teamwork. It makes me feel optimistic about the human race when I see them cooperating like that.

My father has a beautiful, beautiful voice. His father was a pastor of a church. He sang in church. My mother sang in a church choir. I can take no credit for my vocal talent, because, both my father, and mother have beautiful, beautiful voices.

My father had played cornet, although I never saw him play it. I found his mouthpiece when I was a kid. I used to buzz it. And my mother played piano and sang in the church choir for different functions. So there was always music in the house, jazz, gospel, or whatever. Especially jazz records.

I’m seeing too many kids where they get fixated on their own autism. I’d rather have them get fixated that they like programming computers or they like art or they want to sing in the church choir or they want to train dogs, you know, something that they can turn into a career.

My mother raised me in the church. I was not allowed to stay home on Sunday; there was no option. I sang in the choir all the way up until I went to college.

I only sing in my church choir. Except the other night, I stole the show at karaoke night.

But how odd that in this heathen nation of empty pews, where churches‘ bare, ruined choirs are converted into luxury loft living, a Labour government – yes, a Labour government – is deliberately creating a huge expansion of faith schools.

The entire range of human experience is present in a church choir, including, but not restricted to jealousy, revenge, horror, pride, incompetence (the tenors have never been on the right note in the entire history of church choirs, and the basses have never been on the right page), wrath, lust and existential despair.

I was in a church choir early on and that really helped me musically in terms of chops, learning how to sing harmonies.

I was never interested in singing in the church or school. I was more interested in becoming a musician.

I began with dance, doing ballet at 3, then tap, jazz, modern. Then I sang in church choirs, learned how to play clarinet and drums, sang with rock bands and only then did I get into musical theatre.

When I was growing up, I’d be in the choir. My mum was the organist in the church, so I’d sing in the church.

The singing of hymns and the rendition of selections from the great sacred oratorios by ward choirs all enhance the spirit of worship.

The choir always tittered and whispered all through the service. There was once a church choir that was not ill-bred, but I have forgotten where it was.

It is my belief that everything you need to know about the world can be learned in a church choir.

The first time I sang in the church choir; two hundred people changed their religion.