Choral competition
Sir: It is somewhat disingenuous of Peter Phillips to use (and surely reprehensible of The Spectator to allow him to use) his music column to attack the existence of the BBC Singers (Arts, 6 July) while omitting to mention that he himself directs one of the choral groups with whom he believes them to be in competition.
I believe there is no competition. The Tanis Scholars and the BBC Singers are both excellent ensembles which exist for different purposes, as do, for example, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The BBC runs its own ensembles on a permanent basis to pro- vide the widest possible musical repertory for broadcast purposes. Peter Phillips may regard 'jack-of-all-trades' as a pejorative term in this connection, but I regard the ver- satility and skill of the BBC Singers as exem- plary. And Peter Phillips may also believe that the market-place should be the only determining factor in our choice of perform- ers, but Radio Three's approach to public service broadcasting has always put sustained musical quality and consistent artistic devel- opment first.
Nicholas Kenyon
Controller, Radio 3, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1
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