Returns only at Southwell Minster tonight

The Choral Pilgrimage moves on tonight to Southwell Minster. The concert is sold out, although there might be a few returns at the door. There are still tickets available for tomorrow night's performance in another magnificent building, Peterborough Cathedral. Tickets available from 01733 452336.

We have a big party of Art Fund members coming tonight, and we are delighted that our partnership is working fruitfully.

We are recently back from the festival in La Chaise-Dieu, where we gave the French premiere of James MacMillan's Miserere in the beautiful Saint Georges de Saint Paulien near Le Puy. Great response from the audience and a splendid post-concert champagne reception at the Mairie. Brought back down to earth the following morning by a 3-hour delay on our BA flight back from Lyon..............

James MacMillan: 'The 'creative artists' who attacked BP and the Tate do not speak for me'

James MacMillan has entered the debate about BP's arts sponsorship, with a typically hard-hitting article in today's Telegraph: 'When I read that 171 artists had written to the Guardian attacking Tate Britain for accepting sponsorship money from BP, I couldn’t decide whether they were just being stupid, gesturally romantic in true luvvy style, or downright hypocritical. They were certainly being presumptuous in the implication that the arts community (whatever that is) would support them.

I for one, do not, and I know many others involved in culture who would profoundly disagree with their luddite, eco-fascist utopianism.'

Here's a link to the complete article and one to James' own recently started blog.

James MacMillan at Spitalfields

Erica Jeal in the Guardian enjoyed the first evening of our residency at the Spitalfields Festival: you can read her review here. Tomorrow night we give the first UK performance of James MacMillan's Miserere. We gave the first performance in Antwerp last August. It is a signficant addition to James' deeply-felt, deeply spiritual series of choral works. The programme includes works by Palestrina and Aenerio, and Allegri's famous setting of Psalm 51, Miserere mei.

Tickets: +44 20 7377 1362.

From Norwich to Spitalfields

Another busy weekend for The Sixteen, with a sold-out Choral Pigrimage concert in Norwich Cathedral on Saturday, and then 17 mini-concerts in Silkweavers' Cottages in Spitalfields yesterday, our first project as Associate Artists at this year's Festival. Four groups of performers played in four houses for four audiences, who walked between the various venues, and then all coming together for a final event, performing pieces from John Dowland's A Pilgrim's Solace. Our next concert at the Festival is on Friday evening and includes the UK premiere of James MacMillan's Miserere.