BBC: the barbarians are not just at the gates, they are in the hall

 A Facebook friend posted this last night:

From Rob Johnston and Jonathan Manners, Acting Co-Directors of the BBC Singers

Dear all,

Rob and I are writing to you with the devastatingly sad news that we have been informed that the BBC has made the decision to close the BBC Singers, making the singers and its management team redundant. This will take place over the summer, and the group will play no part in the 2023 BBC Proms. Our last activity is likely to be in the first half of July this year, just six months before our centenary year.

Since the restructure of the BBC Orchestras and Choirs last year, Rob and I have gone to great lengths to champion the many virtues of the BBC Singers as the professional choir of the corporation. We believe that the group is at the heart of music-making in the UK and internationally, and is vital to performance and education work at all levels of choral music. The group has a huge responsibility in engaging with the future of choral music in this country, for composers, conductors, singers, collaborators, students and audiences alike. At every stage of discussions - which were instigated at our request - we acknowledged the need to adapt our working model to fit the BBC’s future and offered numerous suggestions as to how we could keep the group working to create exciting new content.

Sadly, the BBC has decided to proceed without the BBC Singers, and will concentrate on working with its five professional orchestras, their associated amateur choirs and external professional groups. We have been told that this BBC decision has no reflection on the quality of our work, but that it is taken out of financial necessity at this time.

This news comes less than a week after the Royal Philharmonic Awards, where the BBC Singers were the only BBC ensemble to be nominated for an award. The BBC Singers were recognised for our diversity of programming and collaboration, the championing of women composers and for our education work. The BBC Singers has never been in a better position to fulfil its remit and purpose to public service broadcasting.

We wanted you to hear this terrible news directly from us, and to ask for your understanding over the coming weeks and months. Whilst we would want to be able to speak to you all individually, our immediate and primary concern must be for the incredible members of the BBC Singers and its management team as we all come to terms with this tragic news.

For us both, it continues to be a privilege to lead the BBC Singers, and we are exceptionally proud of the numerous achievements of the group. Today’s announcement is a devastating blow for us all.