BBC Singers ‘like no other group in the world’

The April issue of Choir & Organ magazine contains an interview with Sofie Jeannin, chief conductor of the BBC Singers, before anyone knew they were to be abolished. Sofie is former head of French Radio Chorus.

Here’s her assessment of the BBC group and its role:

‘This is a main question, generally, for today when many bastions of public service are being challenged. As for the Singers, they have changed and developed through the years: they’ve been extremely avant-garde, they’ve broadened their repertoire for audiences, broadcast Evensong live. There are just so many different aspects of choral singing they have achieved, and to have a group of that calibre in the UK is completely unique. There’s no other group in the world that works with their stamina, their ability to work at such a pace and with such standards. They do so many broadcasts and work so very hard – it helps to fuel a future of extremely capable singers. For me, it’s really a treasure. Of course, there are amazing choral ensembles all over the UK, but there is no guarantee as to the longevity of those groups.

‘… Providing new content for the radio is so important – we should not be relying on playing CDs all the time! This is something we mustn’t lose sight of. The Singers’ commitment to the overall choral scene is phenomenal.’

More here.