Midlands Choir of the Year 2026 Winners!

What a night!

On Sunday 12th July, we had the privilege of participating in the final round of Midlands Choir of the Year (MCOTY) in Lichfield Cathedral as part of the Lichfield Festival. After qualifying through the semi-final back in May, we'd been looking forward to the final for weeks, and debuted our four competition pieces at our fabulous Jewels & Jazz concert in Tutbury on 3rd July. It was a great chance for us to really solidify them in front of a live audience, and they were all very well received by everyone.

We arrived at the cathedral at 4pm for warm-ups, “slipping into something a little less comfortable” (that is, our usual concert uniform), and a final quick rehearsal on stage. Our trusty Bella Mama warm-up helped to unite our voices and our focus, and we spent the very warm afternoon with portable fans on full blast. 

All six participating choirs were seated together at the side of the cathedral during the evening, and there was a wonderful and supportive atmosphere among everyone. There was plenty of chatting, lots of encouragement between choirs and a real sense that we were all there to enjoy the music and “just have fun with it”.

The competition had been sold out for weeks, and the quality of singing throughout the evening was exceptional. We were proud to share the stage with Cantare, Inspire Choir, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Staff Choir, Six Town Sound and the Staffordshire Show Choir. We loved the variety of the other choirs’ repertoire which ranged from show tunes, to modern rock, to gospel, to sacred music. Every choir had a distinct presence and all were extremely worthy competitors. It was clear that no one was going to make it easy for the adjudicators!

Friday Voices performed fifth out of the six participating choirs. Marcus gave a great introduction to our programme, which consisted of four unaccompanied works:

• Passereau - Il Est Bel Et Bon

• Rheinberger - Abendlied

• Antognini - Come To Me

• Mäntyjärvi - Double Double Toil and Trouble
  

While Il Est Bel Et Bon started with a few nervous moments, it quickly settled and we found our collective voice. Abendlied contained some beautifully controlled ensemble singing and showcased a wide dynamic range. Come To Me and Double Double were both enormously successful. We endeavoured to first soothe the audience with a sublime and deeply emotional piece, and then immediately afterward, terrify them with our “nasty voices” and “witchy poses”! Marcus conducted with perfect professional confidence and enthusiasm throughout, and we couldn't have asked for a better musical guide. The organisers of the event were absolutely phenomenal, and they even honoured our special lighting request to accompany Double Double.

After the participants had performed, the previous winners from 2024, MaleVox, performed a superb programme which kept us highly entertained with their sense of humour and excellent musicianship.

As for the end of the evening, results were announced. The Staffordshire Show Choir deservedly won the Audience Prize, and we were delighted to hear that we'd come third in the audience vote ourselves, but we were unprepared for what came next:

“The 2026 Midlands Choir of the Year is… Friday Voices!”

At first, there was a tiny moment of shock. After that came the cheering, the hugs and a lot of very happy faces. We were ushered back on stage and presented with the trophy, a £1,000 prize kindly sponsored by Rayburn Tours, and enough excitement to keep us buzzing for several days afterwards (still going, as of this blog post).

Winning MCOTY is something we'll remember for a very long time, and we are thrilled to be performing at the end of next year’s competition in 2027. We all had an incredible evening singing amongst friends and we loved every moment.

Thank you to Marcus Pashley for leading us with such skill and enthusiasm, to the venerable panel of adjudicators, to our families and friends who came to support us, to the Lichfield Festival team for flawlessly orchestrating a fantastic evening, and to Rayburn Tours for sponsoring the competition. Finally, congratulations to all of our talented fellow finalists. It was a pleasure to perform alongside you all, and we hope our paths cross again before too long. Written by Brigitte (Soprano)