The BBC singers and National Youth Choir have announced a three-year partnership between the two organisations to open the pathway for the next generation of young voices.

Following their joint sold-out performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony from memory with Aurora Orchestra at the BBC Proms this summer, the groups shared the stage again on 2 October at the BBC’s Singer’s Centenary Concert at the Barbican, London. National Youth Voices joined the BBC Singers to perform Numbers by former National Youth Choir Young Composer Shruthi Rajasekar, led by Nicholas Chalmers, who is Principal Conductor of National Youth Choir’s flagship ensemble, National Youth Choir (18-25 Years), and Associate Conductor, Learning at the BBC Singers. This marked the formal start of their partnership.

The partnership will focus on helping young singers gain experience of performing and recording, centring on education initiatives to provide opportunities for students from across the country to gain experience singing. It will encompass work involving National Youth Choir’s oldest singers, aged 18-25, its chamber ensemble National Youth Voices, and the Emerging Professional Artists programme, its professional development scheme for singers, conductors and composers.

Jonathan Manners, Director of BBC Singers, said: ‘The BBC Singers continue to thrive on building strong working relationships with National Youth Choir, and together we have the opportunity to build a significant development pathway, not just for the musicians we work with, but for young people encountering the joy of singing together for the first time.’

Lucy Hollins, Creative Director of National Youth Choir, said: ‘Over the past year, we have been delighted to collaborate and perform with the BBC Singers on a number of projects, which have given National Youth Choir members incomparable opportunities to work at the very highest level, and learn from the best of the best.’

‘I am thrilled that we will be working even more closely with the BBC Singers over the coming years to develop a range of professional opportunities for the next generation of choral singers and inspire all those who love to sing’ she added.

The shared performance from the BBC Singers and National Youth Voices is now available on BBC Sounds and will be shown on BBC TV and iPlayer at a later date.