Soundbites
Singers snubbed
The King’s Singers have expressed their sadness at having a concert in Florida called off at the last minute on the grounds of sexuality. Pensacola Christian College, which was due to host the group, said in a statement that it cancelled the event ‘upon learning that one of the artists openly maintained a lifestyle that contradicts Scripture’. In response, the King’s Singers said that ‘This is the first time that anything other than bad weather, the pandemic or war has caused a concert cancellation in our 55-year history.’
Choral diversity
Works by Florence Price, Julia Perry and
Ken Burton are among those featured in
The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers, a new collection published by Oxford University Press. ‘Through publishing this anthology, we are raising the profile of composers who have added great value to the choral repertoire but who have previously been and continue to be underrepresented,’ says editor and composer Marques LA Garrett, who himself has a piece in the groundbreaking volume.
Political conduct
Leading Bulgarian conductor Nayden Todorov has been named as his country’s new minister of culture. Reacting to the appointment, Todorov said ‘I don’t know if I will be able to meet all the expectations, but I know that I will give my best.’ He joins pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski and composer Ivo Josipović, former PM and president of Poland and Croatia respectively, in the list of musicians-turned-politicians.
Little Britten
Last July, we reported on the Britten As A Boy statue currently being created for Lowestoft, the Suffolk town where the composer was born in 1913. If the design caught your eye, the good news is that 30 miniature versions have been made and are being sold for prices ranging from £4,800 (18") to £9,600 (36"). See brittenasaboy.com.