2016 in British music

Events

12 January – Having stipulated that he did not want a funeral ceremony, David Bowie is cremated in New Jersey, USA, with arrangements for his ashes to be scattered in accordance with Buddhist rituals on the island of Bali.

13 January – Chetham's School of Music announces the appointment of Alun Jones as its new Head, effective September 2016.

28 January – Wigmore Hall live-streams performances for the first time.

4 February - The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as its next music director, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of 3 years. She is the first female conductor to be named music director of the CBSO.

19 February – The Royal Philharmonic Society announces Sir Peter Maxwell Davies as the recipient of its 102nd Gold Medal.

24 February – The 2016 Brit Awards ceremony takes place at The O2, presented by Ant & Dec. David Bowie is awarded the "Brits Icon" award, a few weeks after his death. Actor Gary Oldman accepts the award on Bowie's behalf.

2 March - The Bridgewater Hall announces the appointment of Andrew Bolt as its new chief executive.

21 March – The Gloucester Cathedral Choir announces that it is to recruit girl choristers for the first time in its history, in April 2016.

22 March – Mark Wigglesworth announces his resignation as music director of English National Opera, effective at the end of the 2015–2016 season.

18 April - The Royal Northern College of Music announces the appointment of Sir John Tomlinson as its next president, for a term of 5 years, effective January 2017.

23 April – The London Woodwind Orchestra, the first professional woodwind orchestra in the UK, gives its debut performance at St John's Smith Square.

29 April – English National Opera announces the appointment of Daniel Kramer as its next artistic director, effective 1 August 2016.

12 May – The Stone Roses release their first new single in 21 years, "All For One", their first new material since their 2011 reformation.

14 May – The United Kingdom will compete in the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. This year's Joe and Jake will represent the United Kingdom with their song, You're Not Alone

15 May – Sheku Kanneh-Mason wins the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year award.

12 June – Queen's Birthday Honours

Rod Stewart is made a Knight Bachelor.

Alison Balsom is awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Brian Lang, Colin Lawson, Paul Lewis, John McLeod are each made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

13 June - The Royal Albert Hall announces that Chris Cotton, its current chief executive, is to retire.

24 June - Never heard during the composer's lifetime, Still Point by Daphne Oram receives its world premiere at St John's Smith Square, London, 67 years after Oram composed the work.

11 July – Release of Stand As One – Live at Glastonbury 2016, an album of live performances from the 2016 Glastonbury Festival in memory of Jo Cox, the MP recently killed in a violent attack; proceeds from the album will go towards helping Oxfam's work with refugees, Cox having worked for the charity for some years.

13 July – The Guildhall School of Music and Drama announces the appointment of Lynne Williams as its next principal, effective in 2017.

2 August – The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Dominic Parker as its new Director, in succession to Gavin Reid.

12 September – The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden announces the appointment of Oliver Mears as its next Director of Opera, effective March 2017.

8 October – The Wind in the Willows, a musical by Julian Fellowes with music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, receives its world première at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth.

21 October – English National Opera announces the appointment of Martyn Brabbins as its new music director, with immediate effect, with an initial contract through October 2020.

24 October - The Royal Albert Hall announces the appointment of Craig Hassall as its next chief executive, effective 2017.

4 November – The UK government announced withdrawal of funding support for the proposed new London Concert Hall.

7 December - Northern Ireland Opera announces the appointment of Walter Sutcliffe as its next artistic director, effective February 2017.

13 December - The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh announces that its chief executive, Adrian Harris, is to retire at the end of December 2016.

30 December - New Year's Honours 2017

Dame Evelyn Glennie is made a Companion of Honour.

Ray Davies, Jeffrey Tate and Bryn Terfel are each made a Knight Bachelor.

Lennox Mackenzie and Stephen Maddock are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Iestyn Davies and Anthony Forbes are each made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Television series

8 January – Launch of the first series of Lip Sync Battle: UK on Channel 5, a British version of the American musical comedy television show where celebrities lip sync battle each other to various popular songs.

9 January – Launch of the fifth series of The Voice UK, the last to be broadcast by the BBC.

Artists and groups reformed

Arab Strap

Bentley Rhythm Ace

Meet Me in St. Louis

Spice Girls - GEM

Super Furry Animals

The Vapors

The Zutons

Groups on hiatus

Bombay Bicycle Club

One Direction

Groups disbanded

Allo Darlin'

Atlas Eyes

The Bad Shepherds

Bolt Thrower

The Business

Dead or Alive

Funeral for a Friend

FVK

The Enemy

Lush

Maybeshewill

Viola Beach

Vondelpark

Wodensthrone

Classical works

Julian Anderson - Incantesimi

Sally Beamish

Chaconne (for organ)

A Shakespeare Masque (text by Carol Ann Duffy)

Luke Bedford

Three Caves

In Black Bright Ink

Judith Bingham - The Orchid and Its Hunters

Harrison Birtwistle - Five Lessons in a Frame

Mark David Boden - Ghyll

Charlotte Bray

Agnus Dei

Stone Dancer

Falling in the Fire (for cello and orchestra)

Diana Burrell – Concerto for Brass and Orchestra

Paul Carr - Violin Concerto

Chiu-yu Chou - Tongue

Desmond Clarke

Viola Concerto

Xyla

Anna Clyne – This Lunar Beauty

Ronald Corp - "Behold, the sea"

Tom Coult

Sonnet Machine

Spirit of the Staircase

Laurence Crane - Cobbled Section After Cobbled Section

Stephen Deazley (music) and Martin Riley (text) - The Rattler

James Dillon - The Gates for string quartet and orchestra

Richard Emsley - Strange Attractor

Edmund Finnis – Parallel Colour

Alissa Firsova

Paradisi Gloria

Bride of the Wind

Cheryl Frances-Hoad - Game On (for piano and Commodore 64)

Michael Zev Gordon – In the Middle of Things

Tom Harrold

Nightfires

Raze

Malcolm Hayes – Violin Concerto

Morgan Hayes - Overture: The Kiss

Piers Hellawell – Wild Flow

Thomas Hyde - Piano Trio: after Picasso

Patrick John Jones - Locks of the approaching storm

Mica Levi - Signal Before War

Zoë Martlew - Broad St. Burlesque

Christian Mason - Isolarion III

Benedict Mason - Horns Strings and Harmony

David Matthews - Norfolk March

Bayan Northcott – Concerto for Orchestra

Ben Palmer - Flying in the Fire

Roxanna Panufnik – Kyrie after Byrd

Owain Park – Upheld by stillness

Aaron Parker - After sunset fades

Anthony Payne – Of Land, Sea and Sky

Joseph Phibbs - Partita

John Pickard - Symphony No 5

Michael Pisaro - fields have ears (10)

Sophya Polevaya - Carousel

Francis Pott – Laudate Dominum

John Powell - A Prussian Requiem

Alwynne Pritchard - Rockaby

Ryan Probert – Mattei

Derek Rodgers - Clarinet Concerto

Matt Rogers - We Happened to Travel

David Sawer - AprilMarch

Frederick Scott - Toccata seconda

Percy Sherwood - Concerto for violin and cello

Howard Skempton - Piano Concerto

Mark-Anthony Turnage – Strapless (ballet in one act, choreography by Christopher Wheeldon)

Roderick Williams – Ave verum corpus re-imagined

Scott Wilson - head-neck-chest-four-five-six-thing

John Woolrich - Swan Song

Opera

Figaro Gets a Divorce by Elena Langer (libretto by David Pountney) is premièred on 21 February 2016 by Welsh National Opera in Cardiff.

Found and Lost by Emily Hall is premièred at the Corinthia Hotel London in January 2016.

Other premieres:

Thomas Adès and Tom Cairns – The Exterminating Angel

Iain Bell (music), David Antrobus and Emma Jenkins (libretto) - In Parenthesis

David Bruce and Glyn Maxwell – Nothing

Nicholas Jackson – The Rose and the Ring

Hannah Kendall and Tessa McWatt – The Knife of Dawn

Stuart MacRae and Louise Welsh – The Devil Inside

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies - The Hogboon

Mark Simpson and Melanie Challenger – Pleasure

Philip Venables - 4.48 Psychosis

Musical theatre

The Wind in the Willows by Julian Fellowes, with music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

Musical films

Sing Street

Film

Erran Baron Cohen & David Buckley – Grimsby

Charlie Mole – Dad's Army

Television

Debbie Wiseman – Dickensian

British music awards

Brit Awards – see 2016 Brit Awards

Deaths

4 January – Robert Stigwood, Australian-born band manager (Bee Gees, Cream) and film producer (Grease, Saturday Night Fever), 81 (death announced on this date)

10 January – David Bowie, singer-songwriter and actor, 69

17 January – Dale Griffin, drummer (Mott the Hoople), 67 (Alzheimer's disease)

24 January – Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (Rainbow, Dio), 68

26 January – Colin Vearncombe (aka Black), singer-songwriter, 53 (head injuries sustained in a traffic collision)

28 January

Paul Kantner, singer-songwriter, guitarist (Jefferson Airplane), 74

Signe Anderson, singer-songwriter (Jefferson Airplane), 74

9 February – Roy Harris, folk singer, 82

13 February – Members of Viola Beach:

Kris Leonard, 20, singer and guitarist

Jack Dakin, 19, drummer

Tomas Lowe, 27, bassist

River Reeves, 19, guitarist

Craig Tarry, 32, manager (road accident)

16 February – Gwyneth George, concert cellist and music academic, 95

18 February – Brendan Healy, 59, actor and musician

19 February – Vi Subversa, musician (Poison Girls), 80

25 February – John Chilton, jazz musician and writer, 83

1 March – Louise Plowright, musical theatre actress, 59 (pancreatic cancer)

8 March – Sir George Martin, Grammy-winning producer and composer, 90

9 March – Jon English, English-born Australian musician and actor, 66 (complications from surgery)

10 March – Keith Emerson, keyboardist (Emerson, Lake and Palmer), 71 (self-inflicted gunshot wound)

14 March – Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer and conductor, Master of the Queen's Music (2004–2014), 81

4 April – Royston Nash, conductor, 82

12 April – Alan Loveday, violinist, 88

15 April – Guy Woolfenden, composer and conductor, 78

25 May – Peggy Spencer, dancer and choreographer, 95

31 May – Tim Feild, musician (The Springfields), 82

3 June – Dave Swarbrick, folk musician and singer-songwriter (Fairport Convention), 75

14 June – Henry McCullough, guitarist (Paul McCartney & Wings), 72

22 June

Mike Hart, singer-songwriter, 72

Harry Rabinowitz, composer and conductor, 100

2 July – David Patrick Gedge, organist, 77

13 July – Steven Young, musician (Colourbox, M/A/R/R/S), 53

17 July – Fred Tomlinson, singer (The Two Ronnies, Monty Python's Flying Circus), composer ("The Lumberjack Song") and critic, 88

24 July – Keith Gemmell, saxophonist, clarinetist (Audience), 68

26 July – Paul Robertson, violinist and leader of the Medici String Quartet, 63

29 July – Ken Barrie, voice actor and singer, 83

30 July – Nigel Gray, record producer (Outlandos d'Amour), 69

14 August – Neil Black, oboist, 84

19 August – Derek Smith, jazz pianist, 85 (death announced on this date)

22 August – Gilli Smyth, singer (Gong), 83

28 August – John Stenhouse, orchestral bass clarinetist, 74

12 September – Hidayat Inayat Khan, composer and conductor, 99

30 September – Michael Casswell, guitarist, 53

2 October

Sir Neville Marriner, conductor and violinist, 92

Thomas Round, opera singer, 100

5 October – Rod Temperton, songwriter, producer and musician (Heatwave), 68

7 October – Anne Pashley, Olympic athlete and opera singer, 80

23 October – Pete Burns, singer (Dead or Alive), 57 (cardiac arrest)

7 November – Sir Jimmy Young, singer and DJ, 95

11 November – George Reynolds, orchestral trumpeter, 78

22 November – Craig Gill, drummer (Inspiral Carpets), 44

1 December – Micky Fitz, punk singer (The Business) (death announced this date)

7 December – Greg Lake, singer, musician, producer (King Crimson), (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), 69 (cancer)

24 December – Rick Parfitt, singer, musician, (Status Quo), 68 (septicaemia)

25 December – George Michael, singer, 53