The 2025 Norfolk & Norwich Festival program has been announced. For the purposes of this article, only vocal works are included. The Idrîsî Ensemble presents “Lost Harmonies: Endangered and Medieval Traditions.” Performance Date: May 11, 2025 “Compline by Candlelight” features the Girl Choristers, Lay Clerks, and Choral Scholars of Norwich Cathedral Choir. Performance Date: May 13, 2025 Mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean {…}
(Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge) The Guildhall School of Music & Drama releases its spring 2025 season. For the purposes of this article only classical voice events are included. Tenor Alessandro Fisher serves as soloist in a new version of Ian Venables’ “Venetian Songs, Love’s Voice.” Matthew Lynch conducts. Performance Dates: January 14, 2025 Eclectic Voices and Guildhall soloist soprano Biqing {…}
The BBC Singers has appointed Jonathan Manners as the new Director. Manners became the producer of the group in 2016 and was responsible for their artistic direction and their broadcast output. Under his leadership, the BBC Singers has broadened extensively and the group has championed the work of female and culturally diverse composers, partnered with a wide range of artists, {…}
A shortlist of this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society Award recipients has been released. For the purposes of this article only opera related nominees are included. The full list can be found here. Chamber-Scale Composition Nilufar Habibian – “Az nahāyate tāriki” (“From the deep end of darkness”) Conductor Alice Farnham; Alpesh Chauhan; François-Xavier Roth Ensemble BBC Singers; Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Impact {…}
The 75th Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts has been announced featuring chamber, orchestral and vocal concerts. Here is a look at the vocal events. Gweneth Ann Rand, Simon Lepper, and Rachel Jones perform Messiaen’s “Harawi – Chant d’amour et de mort.” Performance Date: June 8, 2024 Rt Revd Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich preacher, Aldeburgh {…}
In a communication sent from the BBC to the Musicians’ Union (MU) on Apr. 13, 2023, the broadcaster confirmed it will work collaboratively with the MU to explore alternatives to the proposed 20 percent post closures in the English Orchestras. Furthermore, the broadcaster agreed to consult the Union concerning alternatives that are being proposed for the BBC Singers after causing {…}
The BBC Singers are off the budget chopping block, for now. In a statement published on the BBC website, the BBC stated that several organizations proposed alternative funding. “We have agreed with the Musicians’ Union that we will suspend the proposal to close the BBC Singers, while we actively explore these options. If viable, these alternative options would secure the {…}
The fallout of the BBC’s decision to disband the 100-year-old vocal ensemble isn’t quieting. If anything it’s getting louder. 700 composers have written to Tim Davie, the BBC General Director, stating in no undertain terms their feelings on the matter. In an open letter, the composers state, “You say you are looking for agility and flexibility in your future choral {…}
Photo: Gerard Collett In a heartfelt article published by The Guardian, renowned bass Brindley Sherratt expressed his disappointment over the BBC’s decision to dismantle the BBC Singers. Sherratt, who spent 13 years with the group, described his experience as nothing short of exceptional and praised the supreme level of musicianship he encountered while singing with the ensemble. “The audition was {…}
Adding insult to injury, the BBC Singers, which will be dissolved as part of the BBC’s new classical music initiative will not even get a Proms send-off. For over 100 years, the Singers have participated in the festivities, but under the new initiative, the group will be disbanded the week before Proms begin. People within and without the classical music {…}
Photo: Mark Allan Citing the need for agility, the BBC has unveiled a new strategy to bolster it’s purpose for classical music, and it’s causing quite a stir. The BBC will invest in choral singing across the UK, but that decision shutters the BBC Singers, eliminating 20 jobs. On the orchestral front, the BBC aims to create agile ensembles. However, {…}