The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) has announced that Ben Parry will step down as artistic director at the end of 2022.
Since Parry took up the role in 2012, the membership of NYCGB’s four choirs has more than doubled, with 900 young people currently taking part in the choir’s elite training and performance opportunities.
According to NYCGB chair David Roper, Parry’s ‘inspirational leadership’ has enabled NYCGB to become ‘a truly world class community of choirs’.
Parry will continue as principal conductor during 2023, the choir’s 40th anniversary year, but says that now feels like the ‘right’ time to step down as he has become ‘increasingly busy’ with other portfolio work.
During his tenure, Parry has worked to increase NYCGB’s regional, socioeconomic, and cultural diversity, establishing the Learning and Engagement Programme which works in partnership with schools and music hubs.
In an MT interview in June, Parry said that NYCGB is ‘unrecognisable’ from what it was 10 years ago, referring to improved access, inclusion, and representation.
Parry said: ‘Stepping down as artistic director of NYCGB has been one of the most difficult decisions of my career, but I feel it’s right to do it now.
‘I have become increasingly busy with my other portfolio work and it’s time for someone else to lead NYCGB into the next phase of its glorious future.’
He added: ‘I shall continue to conduct the National Youth Choir in its 40th anniversary in 2023, so there is still much to celebrate. When the time comes to move on, I know that NYCGB will hold a very special place in my heart and I will continue to support it and the amazing young singers in any way I can.’
The search for a new NYCGB artistic director will begin in September.
