Future of BBC Singers secured

A project looking at the future of the BBC’s performing groups has concluded with the announcement that a sustainable future has been secured. 

The BBC Singers will remain integral to the BBC’s classical music provision, working in partnership with The VOCES8 Foundation. 

BBC Singers staff will continue to be employed by the BBC and remain core to Radio 3 and the Proms. 

The announcement comes after the BBC revealed plans to close its in-house choir, BBC Singers, last March. That decision was overturned after a public outcry and an online petition with more than 145,000 signatures.

The BBC said: "The VOCES8 Foundation has considerable experience and expertise across music education and community engagement.

"This partnership builds on the valuable education and community work the BBC Singers already deliver across East London, as well as the commercial work already undertaken, and we will continue to identify new opportunities for additional revenue for the ensemble."

Regarding its orchestras, the BBC said it is working closely with the Musicians’ Union to consider new opportunities as work develops across broadcast, education and commercial activity.

"This will be a gradual process in which we will work closely with the Unions and our musicians, alongside a review to modernise terms and conditions making sure these are aligned with the BBC’s principles of fairness and transparency," it added.

The BBC will also pursue an Orchestral Tax Relief application, which will be central in ensuring the sustainability of the six groups amid ongoing financial challenges.

The Musicians’ Union and the BBC jointly said: “[We] have engaged in constructive talks over recent months. We are pleased that we have a strategy which secures the future of the BBC Singers, and we look forward to celebrating their centenary year." 

Paul Smith (CEO) and Barnaby Smith (Artistic Director) of The VOCES8 Foundation said: “As a global, artist-led charity dedicated to inspiring people through choral music, The VOCES8 Foundation was committed to a positive outcome for the future of the BBC Singers. The Foundation looks forward to working together with the BBC Singers to demonstrate how choral music can positively impact communities in the UK and worldwide in the 21st century.”