Leeds Song has announced the appointment of Michael Chance CBE as a new Trustee and Chair Designate.

He will take over for Kathleen Evans BEM following the close of the 2026 festival.

“Leeds Song is a regional centre of international excellence,” Chance, who has performed as a countertenor and conductor, said per an official press release. “It has a passionate and committed audience, and a lot of performers of many sorts who will drop everything to be involved.”

To celebrate Evan’s tenure, which included her serving as Chair of the Board since 2017, the organization commissioned a major new song cycle by David Matthews. The commission, “Three Hopkins Sonnets,” Op. 180, will world premiere on April 18, 2026 as part of a recital titled “Kathleen’s Songbook.” The showcase will feature Leeds Song Patron Dame Sarah Connolly and Festival Director Joseph Middleton in a program of music chosen personally by Evans.

“When Jane Anthony and her friends founded Leeds Lieder in 2004, they could hardly have imagined it would grow into the internationally renowned organisation it is today. That success is due to the dedication of a small management team, my fellow trustees, the inspirational leadership of our Director, Joseph Middleton, and the generosity of our artists, audiences and funders. My heartfelt thanks to you all – it has been a privilege,” Evans stated per an official press release. “I am especially proud of our support for emerging artists, our commissioning of new work through the Composers & Poets Forum, and the opportunities we offer children and young people through Learning and Participation. Song is not only about the past; it is a living, evolving art form that expresses our shared humanity. I am deeply touched that Dame Sarah Connolly and Joseph asked me to suggest the programme for this year’s closing recital. Every piece has special meaning for me, and the addition of David Matthews’s settings of poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins will make the evening one to savour. I am most grateful to Michael Chance CBE for agreeing to take over as Chair. He and Joseph will be a formidable partnership, and I am confident Leeds Song will go from strength to strength. If he enjoys the role even half as much as I have, he will be very fortunate indeed.”

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