2020 in British music

This is a summary of the year 2020 in British music.

Events

• 9 January – Singer Celeste is named as the Sound of 2020, after an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures.
• 13 January – Opera Holland Park announces simultaneously the scheduled retirement of Michael Volpe as its general director on 30 September 2020, and the appointment of James Clutton as the company's new Chief Executive and Director of Opera, effective 1 October 2020.
• 24 January – The London Philharmonic Orchestra announces simultaneously the scheduled retirement of Timothy Walker as its chief executive and artistic director, effective 3 June 2020, and the appointment of David Burke as its next chief executive, along with a planned division into separate roles each of the posts of chief executive and of artistic director.
• 1 February
• The Orchestre National de Lille performs the final concert of its UK tour at Leeds Town Hall, the last European orchestra to perform in the United Kingdom just prior to and after the UK's departure from the European Union.
• Veteran glam rock band Slade sack their drummer Don Powell after 50 years together; Powell says he will set up a rival group called "Don Powell's Slade".
• 12 February – The Two Moors Festival announces the appointment of Tamsin Waley-Cohen as its new artistic director for its 2020 festival.
• 24 February – The Hallé announces Delyana Lazarova as the winner of the inaugural Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition 2020.
• 27 February
• "My Last Breath", sung by James Newman, is selected as the UK's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. A few weeks later, the contest is cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Hallé announces the appointment of David Butcher as its next chief executive, effective September 2020.
• The Britten Sinfonia announces that David Butcher is to stand down as its chief executive and artistic director in the summer of 2020.
• 11 March
• The Philharmonia Orchestra announces the appointment of Alexander Van Ingen as its next chief executive, effective September 2020.
• The Academy of Ancient Music announces that Alexander Van Ingen is to stand down as its chief executive, effective September 2020.
• 17 March – The following classical music organisations announce suspension of performances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic:
• All BBC Orchestras and Choirs
• Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
• Southbank Centre, encompassing the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra
• London Symphony Orchestra
• Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, through 19 April 2020
• 18 March – The Glastonbury Festival announces the cancellation of its 2020 season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 23 March – Hazard Chase announces cessation of activity and entry into voluntary liquidation, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 24 March – The St Magnus International Festival announces cancellation of its 2020 season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 26 March – The following festivals have cancelled their scheduled 2020 seasons in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic:
• Download Festival
• East Neuk Festival
• Isle of Wight Festival
• 27 March – The following festivals have cancelled their scheduled 2020 seasons in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic:
• All Points East
• Lovebox Festival
• Parklife
• Cambridge Folk Festival
• 30 March
• The Aldeburgh Festival announces the cancellation of its 2020 festival season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first-ever festival cancellation in the festival's history.
• Following a cold and self-isolation, Marianne Faithfull checks into hospital, and subsequently has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
• 1 April – The Edinburgh International Festival announces the cancellation of its 2020 festival season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2 April – The Dartington Music Summer School and Festival announces the cancellation of its 2020 summer school and festival season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 6 April – The London Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Karina Canellakis as its new principal guest conductor, the first female conductor ever named to the post, effective September 2020.
• 24 April – At 99 years old, Captain Tom Moore became the oldest person to top the UK Singles Chart.
• 5 May – Glyndebourne Opera announces cancellation of its 2020 summer season, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 6 May – Britten Sinfonia announces the appointment of Meurig Bowen as its next chief executive and artistic director, effective August 2020.
• 7 May – Help Musicians UK announces the appointment of Dame Evelyn Glennie as its new president.
• 12 May – Wigmore Hall and BBC Radio 3 announce a scheduled series of live concerts from Wigmore Hall, beginning on 1 June, to be performed to an empty hall and under social distancing guidelines, the first live concerts from the hall and broadcast on Radio 3 since the general COVID-19 lockdown.
• 1 June – At Wigmore Hall, Stephen Hough gives a live concert without an audience in attendance, video-streamed and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, the first live classical music concert in London and the first live music relay on BBC Radio 3 in 11 weeks since the imposition of COVID-19-related lockdown conditions.
• 9 June – The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Domingo Hindoyan as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season.
• 15 June – Birmingham Opera Company announces the appointment of Alpesh Chauhan as its new music director, effective 1 July 2020.
• 16 June – Universal Music Group announces the re-branding of its Virgin EMI label as EMI Records, and the appointment of Rebecca Allen as president of the EMI Records label.
• 25 June – The London Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Cristina Rocca as its new artistic director, effective November 2020.
• 2 July – Opera North announces postponement of its originally scheduled autumn 2020 and winter 2021 productions, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 3 July – The BBC Proms announces its reconfigured 2020 Proms season, with 6 weeks of archival Proms and selected new digital content, and the final 2 weeks of the season scheduled to feature live concerts under social distancing guidelines at the Royal Albert Hall.
• 4 July – The Bamberg Symphony announces the prize winners of its 2020 Mahler Competition for conductors, which include Finnegan Downie Dear (First Prize) and Harry Ogg (joint winner of Third Prize).
• 6 July – Tom Meighan and Kasabian announce his departure from the group, by mutual agreement. Subsequent reports the next day indicate that the departure was related to Meighan's assault of his former fiancée, Vikki Ager, behaviour condemned by his former bandmates as "totally unacceptable".
• 8 July – Cadogan Hall presents a live concert by the English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) under social distancing guidelines, the first live concert at Cadogan Hall and the first live ECO performance since the imposition of lockdown conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 25 July – Grime artist Wiley is dropped by his management after the rapper posted a series of anti-Semitic tweets.
• 28 July – Q magazine folds, and publishes its final issue, blaming low circulation and advertising revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 12 August – Glyndebourne Opera stages the first night of its new live production of Jacques Offenbach's Mesdames de la Halle, in English translation under the title In the Market for Love, or Onions are Forever, under social distancing conditions for the musicians and audience, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 17 August – Wigmore Hall announces a schedule for 100 autumn season concerts under social distancing conditions, scheduled for the period of 13 September 2020 to 22 December 2020.
• 28 August
• Imogen Cooper is announced as the recipient of The Queens Medal for Music 2019.
• The first live concert of the 2020 BBC Proms takes place at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers conducted by Sakari Oramo, under social distancing conditions for the musicians, without an audience and to an empty hall.
• 29 August – Seorsia Jack announces her departure from Real Like You eight months after their win on ', deciding to pursue a solo career.
• 16 September – The Royal Philharmonic Society awards honorary membership to Dame Sarah Connolly, at a live Wigmore Hall recital.
• 6 October – 400 professional classical musicians stage a socially distanced performance protest in support of musicians not covered by the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant.
• 9 October – Queen's Birthday Honours List 2020
• Donald Runnicles is made a Knight Bachelor.
• Joan Armatrading is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
• John Mark Ainsley, Sally Beamish, Nicholas Daniel, Cathyrn Graham, Tony Hatch, Jan Latham-Koenig, Jeff Lynne, and Muyiwa Olarewaju are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
• Lurine Cato, Yolanda Charles, Karen Gibson, Carrie Grant, Marianna Hay, Jason Iley, Stephen Layton, Mica Paris, Jennifer Pike, and Dizzee Rascal are each made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
• Lady Leshurr is awarded the British Empire Medal.
• 21 October – NI Opera announces the appointment of Cameron Menzies as its next artistic director.
• 1 November – The charity single Four Notes – Paul's Tune, based on a piano improvisation by retired music teacher Paul Harvey, is released in a recording with the BBC Philharmonic accompanying the original piano recording, with proceeds from sales divided equally between the Alzheimers Society and Music for Dementia.
• 4 November – The Southbank Centre announces the appointment of Toks Dada as its new head of classical music, effective December 2020.
• 6 November – Sir Cliff Richard becomes the first artist to have albums in the Top 5 UK album charts across eight consecutive decades, each decade from the 1950s (1959) through the 2020s (2020), with the #3 status of Music...The Air That I Breathe this week.
• 18 November – The Academy of Ancient Music announces the appointment of Laurence Cummings as its next music director, effective with the 2021–2022 season.
• 14 December – Jesy Nelson announces her departure from Little Mix after nine years. Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall confirm that they will continue as a three-piece group.
• 18 December
• The Choir of Kings College, Cambridge announces the cancellation of its scheduled live performance of the 2020 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. In its place on 24 December, a recording of the music made as an alternative event is to be relayed.
• Paul McCartney releases his solo album McCartney III.
• 21 December
• The girl choristers of Ely Cathedral perform the "Hymn for Christmas Day" by Jane Savage, the earliest known Church of England anthem by a female composer, following its re-discovery in the summer of 2020 by Rachel Webber of the University of York.
• Esa-Pekka Salonen is made an honorary KBE by Queen Elizabeth II, for services to music and to United Kingdom-Finland cultural relations.
• 30 December: 2021 New Years Honours:
• Jane Glover is made a Dame Commander of the British Empire.
• Graham Vick is made a Knight Bachelor.
• Julian Anderson, Barry Douglas, Daniel Harding, and Wasfi Kani are each made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
• Colin Balsam, Natalie Clein, and Wayne Marshall are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
• Bradley Creswick, Craig David, John Kirkpatrick, and Duncan McDonald are each made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.