John Joubert immigrated to England from Cape Town, South Africa in the early 1950s and has enjoyed a distinguished career as music lecturer at Birmingham University. He continues to compose works in every genre, including several operas and a wealth of choral works, some on a grand scale.

Now 83 years old, he was the featured composer at the famous Three Choirs Festival in Great Britain in August 2010, where his newest choral/orchestral work was premiered. Entitled An English Requiem, Op. 166, the new work, like Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms, is a series of meditations on the subject of death rather than a Latin liturgical setting.

Two of Joubert's most popular Christmas carols are presented in Symphonic's December concert. Torches features a text translated from the Galician by J. B. Trend and is included in the well-known Oxford Book of Carols. Richard Morrison, writing for The Times, called it "the most stirring Christmas carol written in the 20th century." Accompanied by organ, the text beckons us to join in a joyous village processional, singing praise to the newborn Christ child.A 15th century text, with English and Latin words, provides the basis for There is No Rose. This stunning a cappella setting is a quiet devotional tribute to Mary, the mother of Jesus.