by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Chairman’s Post – by Florian Städtler

+++ It would mean much to me, if you shared this with your vocal music friends, colleagues and networks! +++
This is my personal opinion, coming from more than three years on the EVA board. Just wanted to make a few things clear. 

  1. I’m proud and happy to work for EVA, the European Voices Association.
  2. We’ve been around since 2012 and as a matter of fact the kick-off euphoria has been replaced by reality, i.e. work, more work, slow progress, setbacks, difficulties, detours and tedious admin work.
  3. Nevertheless, we have *started* and although we haven’t completely changed the vocal music world (yet), we have learned and achieved many things that will hopefully make us better community organizers.
  4. One word to all the cherrypickers, cheap talkers and skeptics who like to ask questions like „What’s in it for me?“ „What is the actual pay-off?“ „What’s the return of investment on my membership fee?“ and „What are these guys actually doing?“: Have a look at the www.europeanvoices.org, google for LEOsings (the 2-year EU project we participated in and paid for 22 workshop trips of our members to places like Barcelona, Aalborg, Tours, Freiburg and Copenhagen) or – much better – get in touch and ask what YOU can do for the community. Not vice versa. 
  5. This association is still in the „seed phase“, i.e. the community ( 🙂 you) that longs for accessible information, better vocal music education and a more advanced way of networking, cannot expect quick returns. Becoming a member now and for the foreseeable future is a commitment to the good cause: To improve the framework of working, rehearsing, performing and simply enjoying vocal music.
  6. If we want this idea to grow, we have to grow in numbers. What me most urgently need are people who help to create relevant content: We would love to have EVA social media managers, co-bloggers, researchers and yes, the occasional admin hand. #joinEVAnow does not only mean to become a paying member of the Association. We need you to grow as a team of volunteers, who are always short on time.

Thank you for spreading the news, Karin Mueller, Volker Bauer, Peter Martin Jacob, Indra Tedjasukmana and Tilo Beckmann are looking forward to your comments, your recommendations and your input. And for more international, female, young, innovative, creative members for the EVA core team.

Here’s to a great community, to our vision, but also the long and winding road of discussing, planning, learning and implementing.

FSt
Florian

P.S. One thing you could do right now – it won’t take you more than 10 minutes: Go to the EVA website and add your favorite vocal music festival to the European Vocal Music Map. It will only grow if you participate!

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für An Uruguayan in Denmark – pushing for south american vocal music

My name is Federico Trindade and I am a Uruguayan musician who has lived the past 14 years in Brazil and who is currently residing in Denmark studying a Master in Choir Conducting.

I have lived all my life by music and for music, however, until I learnt a little bit more about the world, I did not understand how important music, and not just for me. I had the opportunity to experience how music is such an important factor in the development of each one of us as an individual and as a part of the community, regardless of the nationality or culture. When working in groups, it becomes even more important as it allows us to change our view about the environment we live in and our place in that space. Music teaches us to have respect for something larger than ourselves and also for differences, helps us to develop leadership, teaches us to deal with the hierarchy and to adjust our behaviour when necessary for the common good, in addition to providing with friendships and partnerships. It also encourages patience, companionship and love for something in common, it teaches us to have confidence in ourselves and in those who are sharing the music with us, plus all the benefits scientifically proven that music alone provides to the body and mind.

Experiencing all these wonders that music is, and taking all our history of miscegenation of native cultures into account such as the influence of black nations mixed with European and Asian immigrants which gave us a rhythmic, melodic and creative wealth, it is a pity that in Brazil as elsewhere in Latin America music is not yet respected and valued (especially by Latin Americans people). Even without the necessary help to be able to fully develop our potential, we have excellent vocal groups and choirs who bravely struggle on a daily basis to enrich this cultural salad.

Here is a short list of many interesting groups, from my point of view, from various parts of Latin America (that unfortunately cannot be able to put all)… enjoy!

Best regards,

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Local Blog #4: Reflections – composing for contemporary a cappella choirs

Over the last six years, I have been working as a choir leader and arranger for contemporary a cappella choirs. I made the observation that most of the choirs in the scene sing cover music. My Master’s project at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus/Aalborg (DK), that was coached by Malene Rigtrup (Ørehænger), Jens Johansen (Vocal Line) and Jim Daus Hjernøe (choir professor at the Royal Academy of Music) is an attempt to contribute with new original music to the choir world.

In the last couple of months I composed the song cycle Reflections, a coherent composition of 8 different songs of about 24 minutes. This project offered me the possibility to experiment with different composing and arranging techniques, with the creation of own lyrics and with the planning of a large composition process. I have chosen the title Reflections, because I wanted to reflect my own musical roots in classical music, pop, jazz and choral improvisation. The combination of elements from these musical genres resulted in this crossover composition, the melting-together of classical and rhythmic music, uniting the two worlds that have been separated over so many years. The musical frame is composed, but some pieces also leave space for group improvisation. The singers get a chance to contribute with their own musicality and get involved in a unique interpretation of the music.

The individual songs of the cycle are thematically linked by the eight basic emotions (anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy) that the psychologist Robert Plutchik defined in his theory of emotion. I have chosen to write music to the eight basic emotions, because they include stories and feelings that every one at some point experienced. The listeners can relate to their own memories and reflect about the feelings they had. The two choir composers Roger Treece and Eric Whitacre inspired me the most to write original choir music. I studied especially Eric Whitacre’s Sleep and Roger Treece’s The Four Loves and tried to incorporate their composing and arranging techniques in my music. I also used different songwriting techniques. As an example, I wrote music to the famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch. He described shortly in his diary, how he came up with the idea of painting The Scream. I translated his words into English, added my own descriptions of the painting and put them together in a lyric. The Song is called Silent Noise.

Last week my compositions were performed at my Master’s exam with 28 singers from a.o. Vocal Line, Postyr and naura. Truly an amazing feeling to finally hear and see your own creations being sung with great expression and musical dedication.

Feel free to contact me, when you are curious to see the sheet music or want to hear more about the project.

Email: christian.ronsfeld@gmail.com

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Welcome to EVA, Catarina Lybeck!

The European Voices Association is happy to welcome a new member. Some of you may already have met her at the LEOsings sessions in Aalborg and Freiburg.

Catarina, tell us who you are!

I’m a Swedish vocal specialist living in Austria. I am a real „voice worker“ due to my longtime occupation as a vocal- and voice coach, speech trainer and singer. I came to Austria about 20 years ago to continue my classical studies as an opera singer at the University of Mozarteum and also sang (among many other things) as soloist for 7 years at the Salzburger Festspiele.

Music making, living and acting is like a golden thread through my life starting with growing up in a great Swedish choir tradition. I believe that the human being is a natural musical being and the outcome of my seminars and teaching confirm this. One of my special skills is making people sing although they believe they can’t. This is a wonderful experience.

Why and how did you join The European Voices Association?

It was actually a coincidence. I came to EVA via the European Union „LEOsings“ project. Got a really friendly welcome by the EVA members and experience them as very skilled and professional people. I also feel that the energy and spirit in EVA is fresh, positive and innovative.

I like the idea of an organization that supports a cappella and vocal music – this was new for me. The human voice is an unsurpassed instrument and I enjoy the beauty and the countless possibilities of  a cappella music. I myself sang in a renaissance a cappella group for one year and then led my own vocal group for about 6 years performing Swedish „avantgarde“. 

Is there anything particular that you want to contribute to EVA?

As I am a founding member of stimme.at – the European Network of Voice Experts and also member of AVI (Austrian Voice Institute) and EVTA I know how important and helpful networking is. For example, to spread information and knowledge.

I have been training people using their voice for about 18 years now across borders. I also have a deep and long-lasting experience in singing.  From being a lyric-dramatic coloratura soprano to perform „Kulning“(Swedish screamjodel) and deep breasted Joik (Samitradition of the North) over pop and jazz, I’ve went to all kind of borders and crossed them.

I think I know exactly what the voice needs to work in the best and most flexible way. So I developed my own method where the inner and outer movement support the voice in a very effective way. This of course includes a physiologically healthy setup. I observe that many singers never learn to use the full capacity of their voice.

Some singers have unnecessary tensions and pain connected with their voice production. Stage fright is another issue. And so on. Here I would like to contribute with ideas, practices and solutions. With different angles how you as a singer can get the most out of your own voice. Because, it’s much more fun singing in the right way! 

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Reflections Of An 10-year Old Ensemble

[by Ida Olsonen]
It feels almost surreal: this autumn my vocal group Ensemble Norma celebrated it’s 10 Year Anniversary! The group that started as a high school project with (I happily admit) more enthusiasm than knowledge or skill, has developed into a skilled and powerful instrument with the five of us being professional musicians with a cappella as our shared passion.
A lot has happened in 10 years. We’ve literally grown up with this group, learning from and alongside each other. Ensemble Norma has been the best possible arena for developing our skills, trying out new ideas and exploring our artistic expression! Most things have been learned by doing – as much by succeeding in our actions as in making mistakes. 

We feel, like most groups and artists I guess, that we owe a lot to all the amazing people that have given us advice and encouragement through the years. Sharing experiences with others has been a major source of inspiration for us. I’ll always remember our first encounter with the international a cappella scene in Västerås, Sweden in 2009. It was incredibly exciting to meet other vocal groups with the same passion as we had, not to mention being mentored by some of our biggest a cappella role models! So as our 10 Year Anniversary was drawing close, we felt that we wanted to do something special to celebrate; to also pass on something from what web ve gained over the years. We decided to go back to where it all started, and invite the Girls Choir at the Sibelius High School to join us for our Anniversary Concerts.

I remember scribbling down some goals for the collaboration and our learning process in early August 2014: „teaching stage presence and interpretation“, „improving & stabilizing their groove“  and „empowering each singer“ . These were, alongside our repertoire for the choir, the guidelines for our three month rehearsal period. One of the conceptual ideas for the Anniversary Concerts was to play around with the image of us in Ensemble Norma being a part of the choir. Five 20-somethings could visually  easily blend into the high school choir, but also pop out and take the spotlight at a given moment, we thought. Going into and singing among the choir worked not only as a theatrical tool for the concert. At the rehearsals, the choir absorbed a huge amount of information nonverbally, just by mimicking and following us. It changed their way of being, their energy when singing and their stage presence. Following this huge development of both formal and informal learning was very impressive.
If, to some extent, the rehearsal sessions had also had it’s stressful moments, everything was made up for during the two last weeks of rehearsals. As the concerts grew closer, the close-to-a-deadline-magic really kicked in. Pieces where falling into place at a rapid tempo. As a result we performed two concerts with sparkling energy, touching interpretations and amazing stage presence – even the parts of the concert that were sung by only our ensemble were affected by the energy that was radiating from the choir. We couldn’t have been more proud of our talented protegés!
It was such a dream come true to be able to share our music with 65 talented singers and work alongside their wonderful conductor, Reijo Aittakumpu! Planning it all, writing music, selecting favorite songs and teaching the choir was a huge undertaking, and totally worth every minute of it. And we did not expect the huge musical and emotional response that we got from the choir. After the three month long rehearsal period and two sold-out concerts (the first one being broadcast in real time online, gaining a record-breaking internet audience), it was time to say goodbye. At the party after the concert the air was filled with laughter, tears and gratitude. We kept hugging each other, thanking each and every one for their input and wishing everyone the best possible things for their futures. I think that we did make a difference for these singers, and that they actually felt how their appreciation for both themselves and their choir as a group rose during this project. It’ll be great to see what they make of this experience, and what the following 10 years will bring with it!

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Local Blog #3: OPERATION SYNG

1 day – 4 songs – 6 locations throughout the whole country – 2500 young singers. Sounds like a dream scenario, right? It actually happens every second year in Denmark. The event is called “Operation Syng” and is organized by the Danish youth choir organization Syng, which I am working for. Last month the event took place at 6 different high schools all over Denmark. In combination to the project, Syng publishes every second year a songbook with 4 pop choir arrangements that are rehearsed on the “Operation Syng” day with a choir of 300-500 singers at each location. This year I had the honour to be one of the choir leaders for this event. It was an amazing experience to see the joy and passion for pop music in the singers’ faces. The fact that all choirs were singing the same songs on the same day created the spirit of unity and being special. In the years in between there is a similar event called “Operation SyngEfter” for even younger singers.

Another event for young singers is Syng’s elite youth choir. Over 60 singers from all parts of Denmark were applying with a video audition to become a member of this national selection choir. In October we met for the first weekend with all the singers, one beatboxer and their choir leader and Syng consultant, Thue Thesbjerg. The first rehearsals already showed the high quality of this new youth choir. We succeeded in gathering an a cappella pop choir with 24 singers and a beatboxer that manages 7-part-arrangements. I am sure that we will hear fantastic choir music from them in the near future. So watch out, Aca-people! The singers are between 18 and 30 years old and have different backgrounds in music. Some of the singers are well-known faces in the Syng family, because they have been singing at other events of Syng before.

The goal of the organization Syng is to support young singers with many different choir events, publishing songbooks with youth choir arrangements and arranging workshops for choir leaders. Every year we arrange together with Kor72 a summer camp that I mentioned in my first blog. Furthermore, we support our assigned choirs with founding for travelling, concerts, workshops and recordings. One of our next projects is to connect with youth choir organizations from other countries and exchange ideas for supporting young singers. We are also interested in finding an international partner youth choir for an exchange with our new elite choir. At the Aarhus Vocal Festival (AAVF) on May 22nd-25th 2015 there will be an open discussion about the work of youth choir organizations in different countries. The goal is to get inspired by each other and to build an international network. Syng and AAVF are looking forward to hear your ideas in Aarhus!

To get more information about Syng and AAVF, check out the following links:

Syng.dk (only in Danish) and aavf.dk

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Local Blog #2: The Intelligent Choir

A choir full of academic super brains and future winners of „Who wants to be a millionaire“? What makes a choir intelligent? The title „The Intelligent Choir“ was invented by the Danish choir professor Jim Daus Hjernøe and refers to his pedagogical philosophy: to educate your choir singers in taking more responsibility for the musical process. Jim Daus is one of my teachers in pop/jazz choir leading at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus/Aalborg (Denmark), who is specialized in choral improvisation (a. o.  Circle Song), Soundpainting and ear training for choirs. Over the past 10 years, he created a methodology that is inspired by Bobby McFerrin, The Real Group, Walter Thompson and the Berklee College of Music. The basic principle of his ideology is to prepare the choir singers to shape the intended music in the most efficient way. ”The Intelligent Choir” is the opposite of a choir that receives all information about the music from the choir leader. The goal is to create a group of singers that are also able to guide the musical process as leaders. A raw model of this philosophy is the Danish pop choir Vocal Line that consists of many singers that are choir leaders themselves and who are often allowed to make musical decisions on their own. However, it is no coincidence that Jim Daus and Jens Johansen, the leader of Vocal Line, are following the same philosophy in educating choirs. We have to go back to the early 90s.

It was the time when Jens started Vocal Line and Jim studied at the Royal Academy of Music. A time, when the city of Aarhus was open for pop choirs. In his last year of studies, Jim was taught in pop/jazz choir leading by Jens. In the following years both were teaching choir leading at the conservatory. In 1999 Jim started to teach at the conservatory in Aalborg and was supported by the former leader of the Royal Academy to start in 2004 the first Bachelor programme for pop/choir leading in Denmark. Info for all the ACA geeks: The first student that took the education was Morten Vinther, who is nowadays a member of The Real Group. In 2010 the two conservatories in Aarhus and Aalborg merged and made development in the programmes of pop/jazz choir leading as a main subject possible.

As a student of the Royal Academy of Music I have to emphasize the great flexibility that the conservatory offers with all their study programmes, though it is sometimes hard to keep the overview. The Royal Academy is – as far as I know – the only conservatory in the world, where you can study pop/jazz choir leading as a main subject. This is of course attracting students from all over Europe and even one student from Uruguay!! At the moment there are 24 students in the different programmes. For all of you who might think: „Wow! That sounds all really interesting! How can I study there without having to move to Denmark and without learning the difficult Danish language?” Well, I can tell you, there is hope! The conservatory does not only offer Bachelor and Master programmes on a full time basis, it is also possible to study long-distance classes, where you only have to travel 6 weekends a year to Aalborg. Geeky info number 2: An international airport is located right next door. In long-distance learning you can choose between 4 options, depending on the qualifications you already have. You could follow an inspiration class without any qualifications. If you have already studied music and want to improve your choir leading skills, you could audition for an international professional Master course or a Diploma course (EVU) based on half-time studies. For those of you, who have already studied a Bachelor in choir leading and write vocal break warm-up exercises for breakfast, you could audition for a talent line (KA-RK) in pop/jazz choir leading.

Besides the long-distance programmes the Royal Academy offers regular Bachelor and Master programmes in Aarhus and Aalborg, depending on how much you want to focus on pop/jazz choir leading with your ECTS points. You think that this sounds like a huge buffet of possibilities? Just to wait for the dessert. There is even a 2-year post-doc programme (soloist) for those who cannot get enough of being a student. The list of well-known names that studied or is studying one of those educations is rather long. So in order not to forget anyone, I will instead keep on writing about the content of studies.

As mentioned above professor Jim Daus Hjernøe, leader of VoxNorth, is the innovative pillar of the pop/jazz choir leading department. His teaching focuses on choral improvisation, Soundpainting and ear training. Jesper Holm, leader of the jazz vocal group Touché, focuses on vocal jazz in choirs, conducting technique and rehearsal methods. Malene Rigtrup, 10 years singer, arranger and assistant leader of Vocal Line, teaches arrangement and rehearsal methods for pop choirs. They are supported by guest teachers like Kristian Skårhøj (original Circle Song), Roxorloops (Beatbox), Walter Thompson (Soundpainting) and Peder Karlsson (The Organic Choir). In order to get a deeper understanding of pulse-based ”rhythmic music” – as the Danes call it – most of the choir leading students have supplementary classes like ”Singing, Dancing and Playing”, ear training, piano and singing. In addition to this, there are already plans about connecting a semi-professional vocal group to the education, to give the students a rehearsal group that suits their skills. The great idea of gathering all choir leading classes in Aalborg already creates the vibe of a “Nordic Vocal Centre”. The collaboration with the Norwegian conservatory in Levanger and the French organisation Cepravoi shows that there is a need for international exchange of pop/jazz choir music. In some years there might be an international exchange programme for students and teachers to spread the knowledge about this fantastic music we are working with. I can highly recommend studying at the Royal Academy of Music, because of the creative, personal and flexible structure. For more information, please check out the conservatory website: https://www.musikkons.dk  (you can find the English version as well) and spend 4 more minutes to watch this presentation video:

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Local Blog #1: Made in Denmark

Many people associate Denmark with smørrebrød, LEGO or H.C. Andersen. In the last 20 years Denmark also developed its own a cappella brand. “Made in Denmark” is a sign for extraordinary musical quality, innovation und sincere expression. Names like Jens Johansen, Vocal Line, Ørehænger and Postyr became inspiring figures of the international choir scene.

All these names have their origin in the city of Aarhus – a city of about 260.000 inhabitants, a city that is often called “the European centre of modern vocal music”. How can a comparatively small city like Aarhus have such a vibrant music scene? Which factors are necessary to shape such an environment? In the next months I will try to give some answers in my “Local Blog”. The title might remind you of Florian Städtler’s “Vocal Blog”. It was in fact Florian Städtler who asked me to report my time in Aarhus.

About me:
My name is Christian Ronsfeld, I am German and at the moment I am in the middle of my master studies in pop/jazz choir leading, singing and arranging at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. Besides that I am working as an arranger and as a choir leader for the two Danish pop choirs Naura and Sing it!. Four years ago, I experienced the quality brand “Made in Denmark” for the first time, when I went to my first concert with Vocal Line. I was so touched by their music that I felt compelled to follow all Danish workshops available at that time. My passion was enflamed, the idea was born to move to Aarhus to become a part of this unique musical centre. My journey had of course many more steps that I won’t present here in detail.

Instead, I would like to invite you on a journey to Denmark with the eyes of an insider. I want to report about the everyday life and special events in the Danish a cappella scene. My blogs will cover my studies at the Royal Academy of Music, my work on the board of the youth choir organization SYNG, artist portraits as well as the Aarhus Vocal Festival 2015.

The first “Local Blog” gives an answer to the question what you could experience in your holidays in Demark besides camping and hot dog shops. SING, SING, SING, SING – ALL YOU GOT TO DO IS SING! Every year the Danish choir organizations SYNG and KOR 72 organize a huge choir week in the Southern part of Denmark with about 400 singers from all over the country. Whole families can share their passion for singing in four different choirs: classical choir, children’s musical, pop choirs for young and more experienced participants with well-known instructors like Line Groth and Morten Kjær.

After the performance of the children’s musical, I was totally overwhelmed by the musical level. The concept makes sense: While the kids are preparing for their show, grandma has time to party with 150 singers and a huge band. Year after year family clans are meeting at this event. The Danes are calling such an occasion ”hygge”.

After one week of choir heaven in the South the guys from Postyr took over the scene with their first summer camp in Aarhus. 47 singing geeks from 10 different countries (including India and Taiwan!!!) came to Aarhus to learn from the innovative and highly educated vocal group. ”Postyr” is an old Danish word and means ”to stir something up” – well, I can conclude that they succeeded. I rarely experienced a ”do-it-yourself workshop” that was so organized, structured and had such a broad content.

The participants could choose between two tracks (singer/choir leader) in order to improve in their own field. The topics were vocal technique and interpretation, arrangement and choir leading, as well as rhythm & groove and technical issues. In the big choir the participants came together to sing a brand new song of Postyr and performed it in the final concert.

Besides the musical excellence of the group, I want to emphasize how warm-hearted Postyr interacted with the participants. Who would prepare a welcome bag with a lot of useful tourist info, discounts for a tour in the city and bottles with your personal name tag. Chapeau, Postyr!! This summer camp was a win and if I interpret the birds outside my kitchen window right, there will be a summer camp reloaded.

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für Video Interview w/ Jim Daus Hjernoe – Part 2

by Florian Städtler, Vocal Blog editor-in-chief

Those who have watched the first part are anxiously waiting for part 2 of the interview I was able to do with Danish vocal music education specialist Jim Daus Hjernoe in Barcelona. In this part of the interview we are talking about the Aarhus Vocal Music Festival, Associate Professor Bobby Mc Ferrin, Vocal Line, choir sound, the „Intelligent Vocal Ensemble“ and the new possibilities for professional singers to study at the Royal Conservatory in Aalborg and Aarhus. Let us know about your Aarhus experiences or send questions via the comment section. Before you watch the video, I’ll let you know about the end of the clip: It’s a reminder to become an EVA member, as this opens up the opportunity to apply for travel and accommodation funding for the next LEOsings session in – guess where? – Aalborg, hosted by Jim and his students in May 2014. So hurry up, we still have some spots to fill. And with the brandnew EVA memberships, it is even more fun to be part of the European a cappella movement.

Second part of the Interview

by ·Kommentare deaktiviert für VOCALLY MINDED!

A magic land for a-cappella in Italy: Fossano

Fossano (IT): Baravalle Institute and its Foundation are a real happy island in Italian a-cappella overview. Well prepared and experienced teachers, a solid structure behind supporting their diligence, a young and open-minded Director. Let’s see how this all works.

I was in Fossano, the first time, with Andrea Figallo. He was my “Maestro” for some days, and – at that time – I was his most southerly friend, or maybe I still am so. He decided, one day, to take me with him to his choir rehearsals. That day I met some people I’m still in contact with up to now: Albert Hera, Erik Bosio, Letizia Poltini and Marco Meriggio.

I want to talk, now, about this place soothed in my heart, alive in my mind and throbbing in hundreds of voices giving essence and matter to it.

“Fossano Music Foundation” deals primarily with generic music education and it is responsible of three schools of music in Cuneo province. One of those schools, “Vittorio Baravalle Institute”, is the place where a-cappella music has made its way up to become a stable presence in its courses.

It all started with a collaboration between Albert Hera and Andrea Figallo (as I pre-said), in 2005, whom created a choral project that became, in 2006, “Coro Voxes”. This is actually directed by Marco Meriggio (Comedaccordo and Domino bass and vocal drummer). The success of this project laid the foundation for a propaedeutic class of choral music: it was born the second choir of Baravalle’s, “Coro Burgos”. Also, Albert Hera is involved into creating a class of choral improvisation, or Circle Songs, that has brought in these years even the world-class composer and arranger Roger Treece, Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra member.

Over the years, a cappella reality has developed by creating interest and also some surprise among Institute users. Just think about last three years: from 2011 to nowadays a vocal percussions and a vocal group classes started to increase a-cappella interest among users, singers, musicians, familiars and people around Cuneo. Marco Meriggio and Guido Giordana are the teachers of this two special classes, that still last!

The interest towards these forms of teaching has given rise to the desire of broadening the culture of a-cappella also to all the ignorant people in the field. This is the first target of  “Fossano in Voce Festival”: feeding a process that already exists, so that it can be spread and consequently can assume more and more importance even among non-experts. This Festival has a peculiarity, that is also its strength: it comes from a reality that for many years has been involved in a cappella music. This means that, behind the event, there is some solidity. Both from the point of view of organization but especially as regards response from the audience. As Marco Meriggio says: “We are experiencing that people are starting to take an interest and to appreciate this kind of music almost unknown to them. It is a great victory!”.

At least, but not last, Marco Meriggio told me to reveal a small treat: from 21st to 24th of August 2014 a brand new festival is going to light Fossano’s summer and all the Italian a-cappella overview. It is named “VocalMente” and, he ensures, there will be lots of news and innovations in aca-festival scenery: open-stage gigs, world class groups, serious and deepened masterclasses, a cooperation with ItAcA Project and an active participation of Fossano people. Of course, it is not everything. We can not do anything but wait this summer!

http://www.imbaravalle.it/baravalle

http://www.imbaravalle.it/eventi/post?p=1923

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