After an extraordinary response from across the global music community – including letters of condemnation signed by huge numbers of world-leading conductors (including of the BBC’s other ensembles), composers (including a powerful letter from John Adams), choirs (many of whom recorded videos protesting the decision) and other artists, along with a petition which has so far attracted almost 150,000 signatures, the planned closure of the BBC Singers has been put on hold.

According to a statement issued this morning by the BBC, the corporation has: ‘received approaches from a number of organisations offering alternative funding models for the BBC Singers. We have agreed with the Musicians’ Union that we will suspend the proposal to close the BBC Singers, while we actively explore these options. If viable, these alternative options would secure the future of the ensemble.’

It has also confirmed that the BBC Singers will appear at this year’s BBC Proms.

The initial announcement to close the choir was made by the BBC on March 7 as part of a process of implementing its new strategy for classical music, which also included cutting the salaried members of its English orchestras by 20 per cent. At the time, the BBC said it would instead ‘invest resources in a wider pool of choral groups from across the UK’. 

Even given today’s statement uncertainty still remains about exactly how the situation will be resolved, with the BBC saying: ‘we want to fully explore the options that have been brought to us to see if there is another way forward. The BBC still needs to make savings and still plans to invest more widely in the future of choral singing across the UK.' It also adds that it will ‘continue to engage with the Musicians’ Union and the other BBC Unions about our proposals on the BBC’s English Orchestras. We are committed to meaningful consultation and to avoiding compulsory redundancies, wherever possible.’

But there is clearly now a path for the choir to continue into its centenary year and beyond, and so today’s announcement will be welcomed by the hundreds of thousands of artists and audience members who have so passionately argued for the group's survival.