VOCES8

More About VOCES8

In addition to a cappella, VOCES8 collaborates with leading musicians, orchestras, conductors, and soloists from Paul Simon to Eric Whitacre, as well as passionately supports music education and outreach through several initiatives focused on “music education for all.” VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in its collaborations. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos.

VOCES8 has performed at many notable venues since its inception in 2005 including Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Cité de la Musique Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tokyo Opera City, NCPA Beijing, Sydney Opera House, Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, Victoria Concert Hall Singapore, and Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico City, among many others. 

The group’s entrepreneurial and community spirit and its innovative approach are fostered by the co-founders of VOCES8, brothers Paul and Barnaby Smith. The pandemic provided the impetus for VOCES8 to further transform its already exceptional offerings, nurturing a new audience community providing hope, resilience, and a chance to engage with classical music in new ways. Pioneering initiatives include ventures such as the LIVE From London digital festivals and the VOCES8 Digital Academy.

LIVE From London was created as a specific response to the pandemic. Winning praise for its collaborative approach from artists, press, and audiences around the world, the team has delivered five digital festivals to date, broadcasting 70 concerts and selling 150,000 tickets in over 75 countries. The VOCES8 Digital Academy is an online choral program for high schools, colleges, and individuals featuring live interaction with members of the ensemble, live and recorded lectures, and video resources to learn and perform music from the renaissance to today.

Alongside this online work on its own platforms, VOCES8 is heard regularly on albums, international television, and radio. The ensemble is a Decca Classics artist and also releases projects on its own label, VOCES8 Records. The latest Decca Classics album is The Lost Birds featuring music by Christopher Tin, which is nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award. New projects with Eric Whitacre, Paul Simon, and Taylor Scott Davis are being released in 2023.

VOCES8 is passionate about music education and is the flagship ensemble of music charity for the VOCES8 Foundation, which actively promotes “music education for all.” Engaging in a broad range of outreach work that reaches up to 40,000 people a year, the group runs an annual program of workshops and masterclasses at the Foundation’s home in London, the VOCES8 Centre at St Anne & St Agnes Church. Dedicated to supporting promising young singers, the group awards eight annual choral scholarships through the VOCES8 Scholars initiative. These scholarships are linked to the annual Milton Abbey Summer School at which amateur singers of all ages are invited to work and perform with VOCES8. Through the separate VOCES8 USA Foundation there is another set of talented Scholars.

VOCES8 is proud to be working with Roxanna Panufnik as the group’s composer-in-residence, and Jim Clements as arranger-in-residence. The ensemble has premiered commissions from Jonathan Dove, Roxanna Panufnik, Roderick Williams, Paul Smith, Jocelyn Hagen, Melissa Dunphy, Ken Williams, Taylor Scott Davis, Alexander Levine, Alexia Sloane, Alec Roth, Ben Parry, Ola Gjeilo, Mårten Jansson, Philip Stopford, Graham Lack, Thomas Hewitt Jones, and Owain Park. As ambassadors for Edition Peters, the ensemble publishes educational material including the VOCES8 Method. Developed by Paul Smith, this renowned and unique teaching tool is available in four languages and adopts music to enhance development in numeracy, literacy, and linguistics. Also available are anthologies of its arrangements, and an ever-expanding VOCES8 Singles range.