New voices

SIR – While the Derbyshire Constabulary Male Voice Choir may feel it has been a victim of political correctness for refusing to admit women (report, April 5), this need not harm its fund-raising activities.

The Metropolitan Male Voice Choir, consisting entirely of serving and retired members of the Metropolitan Police, performed as a male choir from 1945 until 2016, when female officers and civilian employees joined, forming a mixed choir with the full approval of the Commissioner. Our numbers rose from about 25 to over 70, and we have been able to widen our repertoire. Leslie Stowe

London E4

SIR – Just when we thought that the situation for live music performance couldn’t get any worse, we are now in danger of losing our male voice choirs.

These exist for purely musical reasons, the particular timbres of a gender-specific choir being unlike any other combination. Much of the inspiration for a musical composition lies in the composer’s idea of how certain instruments or voices will combine; and many major composers – Schubert and Schumann are just two examples – saw fit to write several works specifically for male choruses.

Female choruses have their fair share too, and I dread the day when political correctness dictates that the receding female choir at the end of Holst’s The Planets has to compete with growling tenors and basses. Ros Groves

Watford, Hertfordshire