Christian college cancels Kings Singers concert over 'lifestyle'
Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
The Singers have received correspondence explaining that the college's concerns relate to group members' sexuality
A concert held by British vocal group The King’s Singers on Saturday (11 February) was cancelled at short notice by the venue, Pensacola Christian College (PCC), due to concerns about the ‘lifestyle’ of a member of the ensemble.
The King’s Singers and their audience were given just two hours’ notice of the cancellation of their concert, which was due to take place in the college’s 6,200-seat Crowne Centre auditorium with students of the college set to attend.
In a statement released on Monday (13 February), the ‘deeply saddened’ King’s Singers said: ‘The school gave its reasons for cancellation as "concerns" expressed about the "lifestyle" of members of our group. It 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.’
The Singers, who have performed at the college before, stated that this is the first time a show had been cancelled for ‘anything other than bad weather, the pandemic or war’ since the ensemble was founded in 1968. The Singers’ fees were returned to them.
Founded in 1974, Pensacola Christian College (PCC) describes itself as ‘one of the most affordable Christian universities in Florida.’ According to its website, the liberal arts college has almost 5,000 students which it aims to train for ‘a life of service to Jesus Christ’. The school’s articles of faith, found on its website, states that ‘Scripture forbids any form of sexual immorality including adultery, fornication, homosexuality’.
PCC released a statement yesterday (14 February) which said: ‘PCC cancelled a concert with The King's Singers upon learning that one of the artists openly maintained a lifestyle that contradicts Scripture.’ The college added: ‘The highly talented musicians were treated with dignity and respect when informed of the cancellation.’
The King’s Singers will continue their North American tour this week with a show in Toronto tomorrow night.’ The group added that it looks forward to returning to Florida, ‘in a context where we're celebrated for who we are, as well as for the music we make.’