The Voice Festival returns with live concerts and workshops. Vox Aeterna will celebrate the ninth annual Festival de la Voix, promoting live music, Canadian composers and musicians, and professional and emerging artists in seven eclectic concerts and four exceptional workshops, as well as special presentations for students in high school music.
From March 19 to April 10 in the West Island (Dorval, Beaconsfield, Pointe-Claire, Hudson) and for the first time in Westmount, the founder and artistic director of the Festival de la Voix, Kerry-Anne Kutz , welcomes people from all over the city to explore, enjoy and celebrate the beauty, versatility and power of music and the human voice.
Kerry-Anne Kutz is thrilled to bring performers and audiences together again: “Many festival guests have waited two years to perform live. This chance to prepare, join fellow musicians and perform their music is of utmost importance to our artists; to all artists,” she said.
This year’s diverse mix of styles and voices includes shows like CHORALISSIMO! highlighting two superb choirs – Le Chœur de chambre du Québec conducted by Robert Ingari and Phoebus Men’s Choir conducted by Roseline Blain; the Grand Concert featuring mezzo-soprano Florence Bourget with harpist Valérie Milot, and Sainte-Anne Singers & Philomela Singers conducted by Margo Keenan; Oliver Forest and the authentic spiritual music of the Imani Gospel Singers; They sing everything! with energetic and emerging talents singing Broadway, opera and pop; a show dedicated to seniors-Dark Divas by acclaimed singer, actor and songwriter Ranee Lee sharing songs from the great voices of the African-American vocal tradition, including Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald; Steel Rail playing their special mix of ‘folkgrass’ music; and the Vox Aeterna Concert featuring soprano Frédéricka Petit-Homme and Montreal’s premier multicultural symphony orchestra, Ensemble Obiora, bringing a new voice to classical music in Canada. The festival also offers school concerts, an invaluable way to encourage children to participate in live performance. This year it is the Fusiliers de Mont-Royal musical ensemble.
Kutz recognizes how important it is to have so many culturally diverse singers and instrumentalists performing the music of such a variety of world-renowned composers and artists: “We are fulfilling a vital need to see the diversity on the scene. Ensemble Obiora, Ranee Lee, Imani Gospel Singers and our workshop clinician Dr. Claudel Callender are examples of the presence of high caliber black musicians in our community. »
From Brandyn Lewis, artistic director of Ensemble Obiora, “We are delighted to make our first appearance at the Festival de la Voix which always presents such talented artists. This concert will give us the opportunity to expand our repertoire to music for voice, and to program unknown works by composers of color whose contributions have gone unnoticed.”
Robert Ingari is the director of the Quebec Chamber Choir, which is part of this year’s CHORALISSIMO! concert, “The 17 choristers and the pianist Carmen Picard are delighted to finally be able to share the stage together and to transmit our love of new music composed on beautiful French texts. Our evocative program, rich in color and harmony, will showcase the talents of all our members, some of whom will also play an instrument on stage. Long live singing and long live the Festival of the Voice!” he declared.
Standout workshops offered this year are Breath and the Basics of Good Singing with Dr. Claudel Callender focusing on alignment, breath, vowels, phrasing and falsetto; Playing and materializing text with Centaur Theater Artistic Director Eda Holmes, focusing on the representation of song lyrics by exploring mental and physical flexibility, spontaneity, and the many emotions evoked; Songwriting with JUNO Award-winning Connie Kaldor, covering key elements of rhythm, melody, and lyrics, culminating in a new song; and Advanced Choral Techniques with conductor Philippe Bourque working on sound production, phrasing and performance practices for a number of selected pieces. Workshop grants are available on request for those in need, especially teenagers and young adults who do not have the opportunity to study privately.
The Festival de la Voix is unique and offers concerts and workshops for people of all ages, from primary school to the elderly. The mandate of the festival is to bring together diverse communities to celebrate music and the arrival of spring.
Voice Festival 9th edition, March 19-April 10, 2022
Complete program of the festival, dates, places and biographies of the artists on www.festivaldelavoix.com
Tickets for matinee and evening shows range from $20 to $30
Workshops: $30-$40
For more information: (514) 758-3641 info@festivaldelavoix.com
