The Royal Opera House is delighted to begin a bold new creative partnership with the city of Bradford, starting this December with a Christmas concert featuring the Songs for Ukraine Chorus. Performing in the beautiful Bradford Cathedral, the Chorus will sing alongside local choirs and singers from the Ukrainian community in a must-see concert this festive season.

Set up in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Songs for Ukraine project began as a creative exchange with the Royal Opera Chorus to support and stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian community. The Chorus, which is made up of Ukrainian singers impacted by the war – including those who fled in 2021 – last performed with the Royal Opera Chorus in March 2023, to an invited audience of London’s Ukrainian community.

Now the Songs for Ukraine Chorus are heading to Bradford, performing to an audience which will include members of Bradford’s significant Ukrainian population, alongside local Ukrainian choirs and a chorus of primary school children.

The Christmas Concert will be held at 3 pm on Sunday 10 December, and will be a day to celebrate the resilience of the Ukrainian community in the UK and around the world, recognise the power of music to bring people together, and revel in the holiday spirit.

The performance will feature Christmas carols, traditional Ukrainian songs, local singers, as well as the Bradford Cathedral’s children’s choir, Grace Notes.

Daria, member of the Songs for Ukraine Chorus, says:

‘Christmas for Ukrainians is such a special holiday. Christmas is always about family, but a lot of people in this Chorus don’t have family. But this choir has started to really feel like family for us, with such beautiful music, and in such a beautiful place. This project, it’s something I couldn’t imagine.’

Olha, member of the Songs for Ukraine Chorus, says:

‘Music cures. I remember when I started singing during the first project, I really needed this kind of therapy. It helped me to find people who are in the same situation as me who have also experienced such difficult times and can also unite with me. I feel a part of Ukraine here in the Royal Opera House.
This Christmas concert will be a chance to show people how we actually celebrate Christmas at home. When we are with family, we gather together around the table, we have Christmas dinner, and sing Christmas carols. It’s our tradition.’

Bradford was recently announced as City of Culture for 2025, which will see it host a huge programme of work, performances and workshops throughout the year to engage with, celebrate and emphasise culture in the community across the region.

As part of this, the Royal Opera House is excited to unveil a bold new suite of work in Bradford, working in collaboration with a range of partners across the region including Bradford City of Culture 2025, Bradford City Council, Bradford Theatres, Kala Sangam, the West Yorkshire Schools Games Organisers and Born in Bradford, to inspire creativity among young people and communities through a range of events, performances and activities over the next 3 years.

Working with schools across the region, the Royal Opera House will bring some of its most successful initiatives to the city, including its flagship Create & Sing, Create & Dance and Create & Design programmes. Focused on arts-led learning for the classroom, the Create programmes use the world of ballet and opera to encourage creative confidence in teachers and students through a suite of free resources, workshops and shows.

Another core programme rolling out in Bradford is Chance to Dance, the Royal Opera House’s talent development programme. Created to make ballet a more accessible and diverse artform, Chance to Dance works with primary schools and dance schools to give children from all backgrounds the opportunity to learn ballet. Bradford will be the fifth centre across the UK to join the Chance to Dance programme, opening new opportunities to the city’s young aspiring dancers.

Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, said:

‘We are hugely excited to be embarking on this exciting new partnership with the city of Bradford, which will see us work with a host of partners across the city and wider region to place the arts at the heart of the community in the lead up to Bradford City of Culture 2025 and beyond. We believe the arts have the capacity to change lives, and I hope that this partnership and the many events, performances and activities that come out of it, alongside the work we will be doing with teachers and schools across the region, will inspire imaginations across this great city over the many years ahead.’