First-ever global online vocal festival anounced: singing returns

The festival will be broadcast every Saturday for ten weeks from the 1st
August 2020. It has been designed to raise money for artists, venues and
promoters to cover their COVID-19 losses, and to reunite the world’s many
singers, and audiences with much needed live concerts. Broadcast in HD from
the beautiful VOCES8 Centre (St Anne and St Agnes Church), in the heart of
the City of London, viewers will be able to pay for exclusive access to
season or individual concert tickets.

Award-winning artists featured include VOCES8, I Fagiolini, Stile Antico,
The Swingles, The Sixteen (from Kings Place), The Gesualdo Six, Apollo5,
Chanticleer (from San Francisco) and a special guest appearance by The
Academy of Ancient Music. The ensembles will be performing their favourite
works, and pieces for which they’ve become renowned, singing repertoire
from the Renaissance to contemporary A Cappella.

The festival is a heart-warming display of vocal ensembles helping each
other in a time of crisis. These concerts will be some of the first
performances by the ensembles since the start of the lock-down restrictions
at the beginning of the year. A portion of all ticket sales will be put
towards funding for grassroots music education, and to addressing topics of
diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in choral music.

Season passes are £80 (£8 per concert, per household). Single concert
tickets will be available for £12.50. Concessions have been crafted for
students and choirs across the world, as well as special deals for
promoters and venues. Artists will share income from season ticket sales,
as well as individual concert income. This approach goes beyond free
streaming on social media, allowing a revenue channel for promoters, venues
and artists (most of whom are freelance).

Taking the lead from current sporting events, the concerts will be
broadcast from a closed venue. Singers and crew will be following the
strict government guidelines about safety and distancing in the workplace.

The VOCES8 team continues to lead the charge in its forward-thinking,
inclusive initiatives in the choral sector. ‘Live from London’ follows the
online work the VOCES8 Foundation has been doing over lock-down with its
#liveathome series – more than 100 broadcasts of online performances,
participation events and interactive sessions. Its reach highlighting the
hunger for vocal music around the world.

VOCES8’s 15th Anniversary is celebrated by the release of their new album
‘After Silence’ on the 24th July.


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Photo credit: Kaupo Kikkas