Let the People Sing (contest)

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Let the People Sing was a choir contest run and broadcast by BBC Radio radio from 1950s to 1980s. [1] [2] The contest also led to new choral works being commissioned. [3]

In 1959 The Fenland Singers, conducted by Catherine M. Baxter, won the mixed voice competition. In 1958 they had come second [4] when Agnes Duncan's choir had won the children's and the youth class. [5] Both the 1958 and 1959 finals were held in the Royal Festival Hall. [4] In 1961 Agnes Duncan's choir again won the children's and the youth class. [5]

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References

  1. Radio Times Volume 154 -1962 Page 34 "music-making'; so commented Frank Wade (BBC Head of Mr. A Light Music) on the occasion of the final concert of Let the ... First-class choral singing and friendly competition: these are the two ingredients that will make Let the People Sing as enjoyable a programme to listen to in 1962 as it has been in preceding years. ..."
  2. BBC Annual Report and Handbook - Page 29 1981 for Radio 3. Three Midland choirs were highly successful in the annual Let The People Sing contest.
  3. The Musical Times - Volume 101 - Page 11 1960 and also Armstrong Gibbs's Suite of Songs from the British Isles (for s.a.t.b. choir). This last was originally a B.B.C. commission for the 1959 'Let The People Sing' contest.
  4. 1 2 Michael John Smedley (2009). A Canner's Life. Michael John Smedley.
  5. 1 2 "Agnes Duncan". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 26 August 2022.