Joyous and celebratory, contemporary and classical, daring and delightful – the Festival of Voices 2014 program presents a stunning line-up of national and international musicians over ten days in July. Australia’s premier celebration of the human voice delivers a glorious program of performances, public events and – uniquely – major workshops run by the artists, in a feast for music lovers of all ages and abilities.
Unmissable highlights of the 2014 program include major concerts at Federation Concert Hall by ARIA-Award winner and Top 10 artist Ben Lee (July 5), whose spiritual pop has won him fans worldwide; fellow ARIA-Award winner and beguiling folk pop singer/songwriter Clare Bowditch (July 11); and from the US, the electric five-piece and contemporary a cappella champions The Exchange (July 12).
To warm the heart and inspire the imagination, the beloved Bonfire and Big Sing (July 11)) return to Salamanca Place as part of the special ten year celebrations directed. by festival founder Neil Cameron, master of surprise and spectacle. Led by world renowned artists and hundreds of choristers, everyone is invited to join in and share the stage with festival guests, The Exchange and Spooky Men’s Chorale, uniting in one voice to create a choir of thousands for a mid-winter night’s magical evening.
Step inside Hobart City Hall, transformed for the festival into a den of red velvet, dirty cocktails and musical debauchery for Voicebox, Festival of Voices’ thrilling cabaret/ alternative music series features a fabulous program of edgy, contemporary international and Australian artists :the riotous, darkly comic Erin Markey (July 5), named ‘Best Offbeat Diva Who’s About To Blow Up’ by Time Out New York in 2013;award-winning, New York-based cabaret star Kim Smith (July 4, 11), reimagining Weimar-era composers such as Friedrich Hollaender and Kurt Weill alongside pop divas like Kylie Minogue; New York City cabaret/performance-art/drag icon, Joey Arias (July 4, 5),whose many claims to fame includes starring as the Mistress of Seduction in Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity; tenor Will Ferguson (July 6); actress and singer Jane Badler (July 9,10); Australia’s genre-bending ‘kamikaze cabaret’ diva Meow Meow (July 5), in her critically-acclaimed mix of drag, chanson and performance art, and many more.
Festival of Voices sets itself apart from other festivals by providing the opportunity for guests to participate and learn from world-class artists, with workshops covering all aspects of performance. Connecting with festivalgoers in 2014, incredible workshop leaders include Tennessee’s gospel great Eroic Dozier as he leads two soul-stirring sessions of blues, funk and traditional spiritual songs of praise and protest (July 11, 9-13) while British conductor David Lawrence (July 8, 9-13) delights classical music lovers through the perennial choral favourite Mozart’s Requiem.
Big world, small voices brings together the bilingual voices of 60 young Tasmanian and Shanghai singers. Planned in Shanghai and created in Hobart, the a cappella big world, small voices choir will sing their socks off in MONA‘s atmospheric Nolan Gallery before heading to China for a repeat offering at the 2015 Shanghai Spring International Music Festival.
One of Australia’s best-loved and most highly acclaimed male vocal ensembles, The Spooky Men’s Chorale, a “rugby team-size choir of boofy blokes” (Sydney Morning Herald) will appear at the Port Arthur Historic Site, performing a workshop, a singalong around a roaring bonfire and a concert in the Port Arthur Asylum Hall.
Festival of Voices gets cosy at The Barn, pairing food and music for every intimate performance in the stunning Rosny Barn, with alluring combinations like Song and Supper with Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier (July 12) while Handmade at the Peacock Theatre presents a feast of Tasmanian and world premieres, featuring works that are lovingly crafted and home grown.
Spilling across the finest venues and spaces of one of Australia’s most stunning cities – watch out for the daily pop up performances in unexpected places – 2014 Festival of Voices unites a diverse pool of extraordinary vocalists to create a festival experience like no other, welcoming individual singers, choirs and music lovers from across Australia, as the city comes to life with the sound of music.
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