A near-capacity crowd at the First Baptist Church of Demopolis enjoyed hearing the Christmas music sung by The Alabama Boychoir, one of the most accomplished youth choirs in the state.

Sixteen singers age 7 to 18 performed songs including Handel’s “O Sing Unto the Lord,” the French carol “Masters in the Hall,” “Jubilate Deo,” “Al Shlosha D’Varim” and concluded with “This Little Light of Mine.”

Near the end of its performance, the choir invited the audience to sing along with “Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

The Alabama Boychoir consisted of Jacobs Cargile, Thomas Crabtree, Edward Demonbreun, Bennett Diano, Brett Dunn, Garrison Grant, Bailey Herring, Spike Howard, Zach Ingram, Will Jones, Ross Kizziah, Phillip Lollar, Andrew Parrish, Christopher Plowman, Bryson Reed, James Urban and Bradley Vaughn.

The choir was led by founder-director Karen B. Nicolosi, accompanied by pianist Jason Beasley and executive director Freida Jacobs.

The Alabama Boychoir was founded in 1985 and is housed at the Christ Episcopal Church in Tuscaloosa. It was formed as a non-denominational community organization to broaden the singers’ musical education through the art of choral singing.

Graduates of the Alabama Choir School have earned scholarships to study music in college, with eight of its alumni having enrolled in the American Boychoir School in Princeton, N.J.

The choir is known across the nation and around the world, having performed for German and Austrian audiences in 2006 and performing in the oldest church on Oahu island, Hawai’i, earlier this year. Next week, the choir will perform for President and Mrs. George Bush at the White House’s annual Holiday Open House.

The Christmas on the River performance was sponsored by the Two Rivers Arts Council and the Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce.