BBC to disband BBC Singers

The BBC’s head of orchestras and choirs, Simon Webb, has today announced plans to shut down the BBC’s choral ensemble, the BBC Singers. The decision is part of a raft of changes to the BBC’s classical music strategy which will also see redundancies across the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Formerly director of the BBC Philharmonic, Webb announced this new strategy after just over two months in his new role. Webb confirmed the decisions are being made based on funding as well as on insights collected from the 2022 Classical Review, and said that it would be 'several months' before the redundancies come into action.

Webb, who stressed that the choice to disband the singers was ‘a very painful decision’ said: ‘These are the right decisions to be making, however hard they are.’ BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore added: ‘Great classical music should be available and accessible to everyone, and we’re confident these measures will ensure more people will engage with music, have better access to it, and that we’ll be able to play a greater role in developing and nurturing the musicians and music lovers of tomorrow.’

Alongside the compulsory redundancy of the 20 BBC Singers, Webb also announced that the organisation will be opening up voluntary redundancies across the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra with the aim of reducing the orchestras’ salary base by 20%, ‘investing in our freelance colleagues’ and ‘resetting the model’ within the orchestras. To continue to provide a choral offering after the BBC Singers are disbanded, the BBC has confirmed it will 'invest resources in a wider pool of choral groups from across the UK' and 'establish a new nationwide choral development programme.'

With the money saved through these redundancies, the BBC aims to double its funding for music education, launching a major new ‘education offer’ in autumn (details of the offer will be announced later this year).

As part of these new plans the BBC Concert and Symphony Orchestras will share a director, although they will continue to have their own unique management teams. Webb will form a new Classical Advisory Group of industry leaders from across the classical music sector to advise on the BBC’s classical music strategy and engagement.

Classical music ensembles will also seek to broadcast from up to 50 more venues in different parts of the country to reach previously underserved audiences from the 2024/25 season. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will move to a new home in the East Bank in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 2025. The BBC Concert Orchestra set to move its administrative base there too and discussions are ongoing to find a home for them outside the M25. The BBC Philharmonic will continue to be based in Salford.

In a briefing held this afternoon, Webb said that all proposals are subject to consultation with the Musicians’ Union (MU). However, the MU has this afternoon released a statement saying that it is ‘in urgent talks with the BBC to save jobs following the corporation’s proposals’.

MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl said: ‘The BBC Performing Groups are vital to the BBC in our view… The hundreds of singers and musicians they employ will be very concerned about their futures today and we will support them and stand with them to push back against these proposals. We will fight for every job. This will mean working with the BBC to look at alternative measures, representing affected individuals and also calling on the Government to step in with more support.’

A petition has been launched to prevent the closure of the choir. You can find out more and sign the petition here.