BBC chief draws ire of 700 composers with ‘devastating’ plan to axe choir

The BBC Singers performing at the Barbican, London, in February. Photograph: Mark Allan

More than 700 composers have written to Tim Davie, the BBC director general, to condemn the “devastating” closure of the 99-year-old BBC choir, the BBC Singers, which was announced last week.

“As composers, we recognise the BBC Singers as one of the world’s great advocates for new choral music throughout their 99-year history,” they write. “The loss of this extraordinary group would be devastating for the future of the art form, for the composers it champions and for the audiences it serves.”