At Choirfarm, we love to showcase ideas that strengthen the choir economy and bring new opportunities for choirs to shine. This guest post comes from Lucy Mitchell, founder and director of UK Choir of the Year — an ambitious new competition designed to give amateur choirs across the country their moment in the spotlight.
Lucy is inviting choirs to help shape the competition by completing a short survey. We’re delighted to share her vision here, and we wish her every success in getting this exciting initiative off the ground.
Click here to take Lucy's survey and have your say
“I couldn't find the choir competition I was looking for, so I created one.”
In the post below, we hear about Lucy’s vision for an exciting new nationwide competition, UK Choir of the Year, that will give amateur choirs across the country the chance to shine.
Lucy’s Story
Being in a choir has been a lifeline for me over the last few years. Singing is scientifically proven to benefit mood and mental health. But choir to me is more than that: it's the feel. It's the people. In the right choir, it can feel like home.
A few years ago, I lost both my parents within a short time period, and some of the choir took time off work to come and sing at both of their memorials. Not all of them were the members I socialised with outside of choir, but that was all part of the connection we have – the community we share. And it meant the world to me.
My name is Lucy Mitchell and I am the founder and director of UK Choir of the Year, an exciting new amateur choir competition that’s still in development. The aim is to hold the inaugural event at a prestigious London concert hall in late 2026 or early 2027.
UK Choir of the Year will be open to all types of amateur choirs: a cappella, community, choral societies, workplace choirs… all genres will be welcomed, from classical to pop, folk, gospel, and barbershop.
The idea for this competition came about because I had recently taken over as Events Coordinator for a choir I sing with, The Adam Street Singers, and I wanted to enter us in a competition. We had been semi-finalists of the BBCs Choir of the Year in 2016 – still one of our fondest memories all these years later.
The competitions I found were either part of a larger music festival, so not choir- and people-focused, were specific to a genre we weren’t right for, or were simply too far away. I was really surprised that there wasn't a London choir competition, considering how many choirs exist in the capital (apparently about 450!) London is a major music hub – it’s an obvious location for a competition. So I decided to start one.
A new competition is not simply an opportunity to crown a winner. I'm doing this because I believe choirs deserve more opportunities to be seen, celebrated and supported. Striving for excellence and having fun are not mutually exclusive. At that 2016 competition, it wasn’t just the unexpected elation of getting through to the semi-finals and realising, “Oh maybe we are quite good” – getting to perform on such a large stage felt like a huge privilege. Another of our favourite things was being able to watch, support, and mingle with other choirs. We made some great connections there and even ended up doing a joint charity concert with a choir we met there. It was amazing to be a part of something where everyone clearly worked really hard and put on amazing performances. Watching the high caliber choirs was an experience in itself.
The wider choir community is something very special. People from all different walks of life have this common interest that connects them – the joy that comes from singing, talking about singing and being in a choir is so unique. This year our choir participated in Choirblast – a Surrey-based choral festival – for the first time, and it confirmed for me that we need more events for the group singing community. The vibe that day was electric. Choirs supporting choirs, compliments and random conversations with strangers – it was such a joy.
Want to help make UK Choir of the Year a reality?
Take Lucy's survey to tell her about your choir
I want everyone to feel welcome and have the opportunity to sing in an amazing London concert hall. Plus: the more choirs that enter, the more incredible the achievement of the winner. A recent census found there are roughly 40,000 choirs in the UK with an estimated 2 million singers; every choir is different and deserves the opportunity to compete. This is why we hope to offer application or travel bursaries to some semi-finalists if they need financial help in order to take part. We don't want money or distance to be a barrier to entry. This should be an inclusive event.
Amateur choirs can be amazing, and they deserve to have that reflected. I am putting together an amazing panel of judges, with two already confirmed (I'm very excited to announce them, watch this space) and each choir will be given professional adjudication and feedback from those at the top of their game in the music industry. Many amateur or community choirs don’t have the budget to hire these types of venues, and I want all choirs to have an opportunity to perform in them. This, along with advice from composers, conductors and professional performers, is reason enough for an amateur, weekly choir like my own to enter an event like this.
At this stage of development, I need Choir representatives to take our survey, and help shape what this event will be. I want your voice in the room as I design this competition – your ideas, your experiences, your hopes. It only takes a few minutes, but your input will directly influence the categories, the judging, the event experience, the pricing and more. Representatives form over 95 choirs have taken the survey so far and their ideas have already created plenty of food for thought. All participating choirs will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher.
There’s something uniquely powerful about singing together. Choirs don’t just create music – they build connection, belonging, and joy. I believe choirs should have more opportunities to shine, and that’s exactly why we’re creating the UK Choir of the Year. This won’t just be a contest. Our competition will celebrate community, creativity, talent and the extraordinary diversity of choirs in the UK. Whether you win, place, or simply take part, I want every choir to feel like they’ve been part of something meaningful, and had an amazing time. I can't wait to share this competition with you.
- Lucy Mitchell
FAQs
We are an auditioned choir, but non-professional, can we still enter?
Yes absolutely – this is still a proper competition, not just a performance opportunity and chance to mingle. The rules and regulations around what is considered ‘amateure’ will be published on the website in due course if you are unsure.
This sounds great! How can I help make it happen?
The first step is getting information and input from choirs around the country regarding their musical style, size, thoughts on pricing, amongst other things. You can help by taking our quick survey . This is still very much in development and your choir’s input can help move the process along.
Is the competition confirmed? What stage is it at?
The competition is still in the development stage. I've pencilled a London concert hall venue, (as well as a fundraising concert venue, host and performers), confirmed two judges for the competition and am finalising the structure and shaping the vision. I’ll now be taking into consideration input and opinion from UK choirs before anything else is set in stone.
How will UK Choir of the Year be funded?
At the moment it is completely self funded, and we are reaching out to businesses for sponsorship. There is also an option to donate on the website.
Why is the event pay-to-enter?
We are a new organisation so don't have a large pot of funds. We cannot put all our eggs in one basket with regards to funding or sponsorship because we cannot guarantee the same support year after year. We need a large venue in order to both sell tickets and seat the competing choirs, so they can all watch and support the other choirs in their categories. I also want this competition to be taken seriously (which an impressive venue will help with) with top tier judging – while it's not all about the competitive side, that side is still really important. We also need to pay our judges, want to record high quality video footage for everyone, and we have lots of other costs like website and marketing to name a few.
How can I follow what happens next?
Follow UK Choir of the Year on all socials, or visit the website www.UKchoiroftheyear.org , where we’ll post regular updates. On the website you can sign up to my mailing list to be the first to know of any important developments, donate, offer to sponsor, or even offer your choir to be part of our marketing.
Let's get behind this.
At Choirfarm we’re inspired by Lucy’s vision for UK Choir of the Year. It’s an ambitious, inclusive idea that has the potential to bring together choirs from across the UK and give them a platform they deserve.
At Choirfarm, we know how much the choir economy benefits from initiatives like this, and so we wish Lucy and her team the very best as they turn this idea into reality.
If you’d like to support the project, please take a few minutes to complete Lucy’s survey. Your input could help shape the future of this competition.
