•
12 January – The City of London Corporation announces a pledge of £2.5M to a feasibility study, previously halted in November 2016, for a proposed new London concert hall. •
17 January –
UK Music announced that Jo Dipple is to stand down as its CEO in June 2017. •
18 January –
Scottish Opera announces the winners of its 'Opera Sparks 2018' competition: • Henry McPherson –
Maud • Lewis Murphy and Laura Attridge – untitled work •
Matthew Whiteside and Helene Grøn –
Little Black Lies •
25 January • The London Festival of Baroque Music announces that
Lindsay Kemp is to stand down as artistic director, and Lucy Bending is to stand down as festival manager, in May 2017, at the conclusion of the 2017 festival. • The
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center announces its award of the 2017
Elise L. Stoeger Prize, for contributions to chamber music composition, to
Huw Watkins. •
27 January –
Lucie Jones is selected to represent the
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, with the song "
Never Give Up on You", co-written by Denmark's 2013 Eurovision winner
Emmelie de Forest. •
12 February –
59th Annual Grammy Awards (see Awards section) •
13 February – The
European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO), currently with its administrative base in
Hordley, announces its intention to relocate to AMUZ (Augustinus Muziekzentrum),
Antwerp, in 2018, in the wake of the
Brexit referendum. In parallel, the EUBO announces its plan to discontinue the EUBO Mobile Baroque Academy (EMBA) project at the end of March 2017. •
28 February – The
St Paul's Cathedral Choir announces the appointment of Carris Jones to its roster, the first female chorister in the choir's recorded history, effective 1 September 2017, as alto vicar choral. •
1 March –
Birmingham Conservatoire and
Birmingham School of Acting announce that the two institutions are to merge, effective September 2017. •
2 March • The
Academy of Ancient Music announces the appointment of Alexander Van Ingen as its new chief executive. • The
BBC announces the appointment of Neil Ferris as the new chorus director of the BBC Symphony Chorus, effective May 2017. In parallel, Grace Rossiter is to join the chorus as deputy chorus director. •
8 March – New Music Scotland presented the inaugural Scottish Awards for New Music: •
5 April – The
Southbank Centre announces the appointment of Elaine Bedell as its next chief executive, the first woman to hold the post, effective May 2017. • 18 April –
Opera North announces the resignation of
Aleksandar Marković as its music director, with his contract formally to terminate in July 2017, but where he is not to appear with the company for the remainder of the 2016–2017 season. •
2 May – The
Leeds International Piano Competition announces that
Murray Perahia is to be its new patron, effective 1 June 2017. •
9 May – The BBC announces the appointment of
Sofi Jeannin as the next chief conductor of the
BBC Singers, the first woman to be named to the post, effective July 2018. •
13 May – The
UK finishes 15th in the final of the
Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with 111 points. •
22 May – At a concert by American Pop Star
Ariana Grande at the
Manchester Arena, 22 people are killed in a
suicide bomber attack. •
25 May – The
Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) announces the appointment of
Thomas Søndergård as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season. In parallel,
Peter Oundjian is to conclude his music directorship of the RSNO at the close of the 2017–2018 season. •
4 June – At the
Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the
One Love Manchester benefit concert takes place, to benefit the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing. The performers included Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Robbie Williams, Chris Martin, Liam Gallagher, and Marcus Mumford. •
7 June – Glyndebourne Opera announces the appointment of Nicholas Jenkins as its new chorus master, effective 4 September 2017. •
9–
11 June –
Download Festival 2017 takes place at
Donington Park in
Leicestershire. The main stage was headlined by
System of a Down,
Biffy Clyro and
Aerosmith, the Zippo encore stage by
Sum 41,
Rob Zombie and
Slayer, the Avalanche stage by
Sleeping with Sirens,
Simple Plan and
The Dillinger Escape Plan (in their final UK appearance), and the Dogtooth stage by
Exodus,
Wednesday 13 and
Perturbator. •
12 June – Queen's Birthday Honours • Sir
Mark Elder and Sir
Paul McCartney are each made a
Companion of Honour. •
Sarah Connolly is made a
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. •
George Benjamin is made a
Knight Bachelor. •
Chi-chi Nwanoku and
Roderick Williams are each made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire. •
Gerald Finley is made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire. •
19 June – The
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition results are announced: • Main Prize – Catriona Morison (the first-ever British winner of the Main Prize in the history of the competition) • Song Prize – Catriona Morison and Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar (joint prize winners) • Audience Prize – Louise Alder •
22 June – The
Royal College of Music Philharmonic Orchestra presents a benefit concert for residents left homeless after the
Grenfell Tower fire. •
26 June – The
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra announces that
Charles Dutoit is to stand down as its principal conductor, and to take the title of Honorary Conductor for Life, in 2019. •
27 June –
Arts Council England (ACE) reports its national portfolio funding decisions for the scheduled period of 2018–2022, which include the following music-related items: • Re-admission of
English National Opera to portfolio funding, at £12.4 million per year • First-time funding for the British Paraorchestra • 3% diminished funding for the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the
Southbank Centre, per ACE's specific request •
30 July – At
The Proms at the
Royal Albert Hall,
Xian Zhang conducts the annual Prom which includes the
Symphony No. 9 of Beethoven, the first woman conductor ever to do so. •
9 August • The Reverend David Ingall of the
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Church in London (known as the National Musicians' Church) announces that the church is to close its hiring programme and acceptance of new bookings effective 2018. •
Music Theatre Wales announces the appointment of Richard Baker as its consultant music director, with immediate effect. •
15 August – The
Royal Philharmonic Society announces
Charles Dutoit as the recipient of the 103rd RPS Gold Medal. The RPS presented Dutoit with the medal at 17 August 2017 performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at
The Proms, at the
Royal Albert Hall. •
21 September –
English National Opera announces that Cressida Pollock is to stand down as its chief executive in June 2018. •
11 October – The European Union Youth Orchestra announces its intention to relocate its administrative functions to Ferrara and Rome, Italy, in the wake of the Brexit referendum. •
23 November – The
BBC Concert Orchestra announces the appointment of
Bramwell Tovey as its next principal conductor, effective January 2018, with an initial contract of 5 years. In parallel,
Keith Lockhart is to stand down from the principal conductorship of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and to take the title of chief guest conductor. •
28 November – The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) announces the election of Gavin Reid as its new chair. •
4 December –
Glyndebourne Opera announces that Sebastian F. Schwarz is to conclude his tenure as its general director in 2018. •
5 December – The
Royal Philharmonic Society announces that Rosemary Johnson is to stand down as its executive director in the summer of 2018. •
15 December • The
Cheltenham Music Festival announces the appointment of
Alison Balsom as its next artistic director, effective in 2018, the first woman to hold the post. • Sinfonia Cymru announces the appointment of Peter Bellingham as its next chief executive. In parallel, Sophie Lewis is to stand down as the ensemble's chief executive at the end of January 2018. •
21 December — The
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra announces the cancellation of concert appearances by principal conductor and artistic director
Charles Dutoit, pending the resolution of allegations of sexual assault against him. •
29 December — New Year's Honours 2018 •
Barry Gibb and
Ringo Starr are each made a
Knight Bachelor. • Jonathan Freeman-Attwood is made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire. • Sarah Alexander, Marc Almond, and are each made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire. • Richard Cowie,
Anthony Marwood, Bazil Meade, David Temple Nigel Tully, and Cleveland Watkiss are each made a
Member of the Order of the British Empire. ==Television programmes==