The LSO, the BP and the Festival d’Aix will create new productions of large-scale participatory vocal works and inspire commissions of new repertoire for European communities to sing. Productions will be performed by community choirs of children and adults from diverse backgrounds, including those new to music making, alongside virtuosic players. Overcoming challenges together in complex, vivid works builds community cohesion and engages participants as new audiences for orchestral and operatic music. Across Europe participatory music performance has low status. Where it is widespread it is often consigned to the margins. Where the tradition is younger finding quality artists to deliver it can be hard. The partners are joining forces to put large-scale participatory vocal works at the centre of their artistic programmes and on main stages, catalyse bold programming in other organisations and develop international workforces to deliver it. Unlocking the Maze profiles a new commission by Jonathan Dove as a case study for work that fuses ‘excellence’ and ‘community’ and develops new audiences through this. Each partner’s own creative team, ensemble of world-class and pre-professional ‘shadow’ players, and community singers will realise the commission distinctively. Sir Simon Rattle will be conductor and Simon Halsey choral conductor for each production, inspiring other artists to see this work as prestigious. A Community Arts Academy of 15 artists will engage with each production’s final rehearsals with structured sessions to explore the challenges and skills involved, its social and artistic value, and its potential as a new concert format. An Open Space event in London and conference in Aix will invite wider European organisations and artists to inform the future of participatory concert formats. A digital platform will propel reflection and exchange between organisations, artists, participants and audience and broaden the enquiry across the European music sector.