One Voice Festival of Singing

We are delighted to be hosting One Voice Festival of Singing 2026 in partnership with Create Music. School groups from across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex will learn a fun and festive repertoire over the autumn term before performing at one of 10 concerts held on the Glyndebourne stage, at Brighton Dome or at De La Warr Pavilion.

This festive celebration gives thousands of local primary school children the chance to sing together at Christmas, accompanied by professional musicians and featuring Glyndebourne opera singers as well as local youth ensembles. Schools performing at Glyndebourne will be joined on stage by the full Glyndebourne Chorus and orchestra players from the Glyndebourne Sinfonia.

Applications to take part in One Voice at Glyndebourne will open in May 2026, registration will be through Create Music. If you have any questions about the project you can get in touch with Create Music by emailing events@createmusic.org.uk or with Glyndebourne’s team by emailing takepart@glyndebourne.com.

In 2025, Glyndebourne welcomed over 762 students from 31 local state schools to sing together with the full Glyndebourne Chorus at Christmas.

‘It feels really magical and I love having the Glyndebourne chorus sing with us’ – Student participating in One Voice 2025.

‘It gives you confidence to perform in front of people’ – Student participating in One Voice 2025.

‘I wanted to say a huge thank you to you for bringing [a singer] from Glyndebourne to [our school] this week. [The singer] was a total hit and wowed the children – and the adults… I know it is something they will always remember. Please pass on my thanks to -such events really make a difference to children.’ – School teacher following a singer visiting the school, 2025.

‘It helped me to get more confidence’ – One Voice 2024 participant

‘I loved being able to perform with my friends and being on stage with the special effects, Its was magic.’ – One Voice 2024 participant

‘Really special for both the children, parents and teachers to experience. Stunning place, amazing for children to sing with professionals. Amazing experience full stop, Thank you!.’’ – One Voice 2024 school teacher

Glyndebourne is dedicated to introducing young people to the arts through opera. As a Trinity Champion Centre for 2025-26, we are delighted to offer funding for 400 pupils participating in One Voice 2026 to complete an Arts Award Discover certificate. This could be the beginning of a journey to achieve further Arts Award qualifications.

Each student undertaking an Arts Award will receive a specially created worksheet and teachers will have access to support from our team of trained Arts Award advisors. We are happy to support as many pupils as are interested and there is no obligation for the whole choir to complete and submit a portfolio.

To celebrate students’ engagement with One Voice 2026, we are offering a digital badge for every pupil that participates in the project. Digital badges are a simple way to acknowledge the value of creative skills and experiences for young people. Over time students can build a collection of badges in a digital portfolio. All of our badges are quality assured and meet the RSA Badging Standard, making them a reliable indicator of skill and accomplishment. You can find out more about digital badges here.

Glyndebourne is in the heart of the Sussex countryside, just 10 miles outside Brighton. There’s plenty of on-site parking for coaches.

A school contribution will be payable for each participating school. The only other costs will relate to travel.

Join the mailing list

If you are not currently on our schools mailing list you can sign up to receive updates and to hear about other opportunities for teachers and students.

Glyndebourne’s Learning & Engagement programme is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Image credits: Photography by Sam Stephenson & Sarah Hickson, 2024 – 2025