{"id":24622,"date":"2023-02-15T12:16:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T11:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=179988"},"modified":"2023-02-15T13:34:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T12:34:07","slug":"the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"The King\u2019s Singers: US gig cancelled over sexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida’s Pensacola Christian College abruptly cancelled the gig, claiming that a performer’s lifestyle ‘contradicts scripture’ <\/p>

By Steve Wright\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 15 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The multi-award-winning a cappella group The King\u2019s Singers<\/strong><\/a> has revealed that a Christian college in the USA abruptly cancelled a recent performance by the group, citing the sexuality of some of its members.<\/p>\n

The six-piece ensemble, based in Cambridge, has explained that it was given just two hours\u2019 notice of the cancellation by Pensacola Christian College (PCC) in Florida.<\/p>\n\n<p>The official reason that PCC gave for cancelling the gig, programmed for Saturday 11 February, was that a performer \u2018maintained a lifestyle that contradicts scripture\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>In a further statement, PCC explained that \u2018the college cannot knowingly give an implied or direct endorsement of anything that violates holy scripture, the foundation for our sincerely held beliefs.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><a href=\""https:\/\/www.kingssingers.com\/"\"><strong>The King\u2019s Singers<\/strong><\/a> revealed that the incident was the first time a performance had been cancelled at short notice in its history. \u2018This is the first time that anything other than bad weather, the pandemic or war has caused a concert cancellation in our 55-year history.<\/p>\n<ul><li><strong><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/six-bestkings-singers-recordings\/"\">Six of the best\u2026 King\u2019s Singers recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u2018We are disappointed not to have been able to share our music and our mission of finding harmony with over 400 students of the college and thew wider Pensacola community. We hope that any conversations that follow might encourage a greater sense of love, acceptance and inclusion.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It has become clear to us, from a flood of correspondence from students and members of the public, that these concerns related to the sexuality of members of our group,\u2019 the group added.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Our belief is that music can build a common language that allows people with different views and perspectives to come together.\u2019<\/p>\n<ul><li><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/choral-song\/tom-will\/"\"><strong>Review: Tom + Will (The King\u2019s Singers \/ Fretwork) *****<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The King\u2019s Singers has previously performed at the college without problems, and was aware of the school\u2019s fundamentalist Christian background.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We look forward to seeing our friends in northern Florida again soon, in a context where we\u2019re celebrated for who we are, as well as for the music we make,\u2019 the group said.<\/p>\n<p>Pensacola Christian College is a Christian school of about 4,000 students based in north-west Florida. The school \u2018educates students based on biblical values\u2019, according to its website.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""The\" kings=\"\" singers=\"\" fretwork=\"\" if=\"\" women=\"\" could=\"\" be=\"\" fair=\"\" byrd=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VDV_2QVh5hM?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>More broadly, it notes that \u2018Pensacola Christian College maintains a Christian-traditional philosophy of education in contrast to humanistic, progressive systems of education. This philosophy is based on the word of God and is rooted in objective reality and absolutes, as opposed to relativism.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>One section of the website specifies that \u2018the scripture forbids any form of sexual immorality including adultery, fornication, homosexuality.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The King\u2019s Singers plans to continue its North American tour this week.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""The\" king=\"\" singers=\"\" somewhere=\"\" over=\"\" the=\"\" rainbow=\"\" video=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-m0461thOdc?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/canterbury-cathedral-choir-announces-equality-and-inclusion-plan-for-boys-and-girls-choirs\/"\">Canterbury Cathedral boys\u2019 choir to welcome non-boarders<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/gustavo-dudamel-announced-as-music-director-of-new-york-philharmonic\/"\">Gustavo Dudamel announced as New York Philharmonic\u2019s\u00a0<\/a><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/gustavo-dudamel-announced-as-music-director-of-new-york-philharmonic\/"\">next\u00a0 music director<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/burt-bacharach-died\/"\">The American songwriter and composer Burt Bacharach has died<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/black-composers-showcased-in-new-choral-anthology\/"\">Black composers showcased in new choral anthology<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/tv-and-film-music\/what-is-the-piano\/"\">What is the television programme\u00a0The Piano\u00a0and when\u2019s it on?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Florida’s Pensacola Christian College abruptly cancelled the gig, claiming that a performer’s lifestyle ‘contradicts scripture’ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24623,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality.png",1258,840,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality-768x513.png",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality-1024x684.png",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality.png",1258,840,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/02\/the-kings-singers-us-gig-cancelled-over-sexuality.png",1258,840,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Florida's Pensacola Christian College abruptly cancelled the gig, claiming that a performer's lifestyle 'contradicts scripture'","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}