YOUNG adult chorister group Voyces has been dedicated to performing and promoting contemporary choral repertoire since it began in 2011.
This objective was given a boost in April when it performed at Choralfest in Fremantle, the first time the biennial national event had been held in WA for 25 years.
“It was really well received and we had lots of people come along,” Voyces president Luke Donohoe said.
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READ NOW“I hope it opened people’s eyes to the broad range of artists, practitioners and genres of choral music.
“It’s not just what people often associate with choral music from church, which can be perceived as slightly stuffy.”
Voyces will continue this message when the group presents its second concert for 2019, The Two of Us, celebrating the lighter side of choral music.
Donohoe, of Nedlands, said the evening at Perth Modern School on September 14 would champion contemporary choral music.
“We certainly want to make sure people know that there are lots of different styles of choral music out there,” he said.
“There are some that are very heavily choral but there’s also some that are just as good and also potentially a bit lighter on the ears.”
To do this, musical director Dr Robert Braham has put together a program that includes Canadian hip-hop piece Crabbuckit, originally by k-os and arranged for upper voices (soprano and alto only) by Good Lovelies.
There will also be choral arrangements of works by Ben Folds, of Ben Folds Five fame, A.R. Rahman’s Bollywood song Balleilakka and jazz standards through a collaboration with The Laura Igglesden Trio.
“That’s why it’s called The Two of Us because it’s kind of two independent concerts in one,” Donohoe said.
“Given that we are a choir of young people, we try to promote the work of our members as much as we can.
“Laura sings in the choir and is a WAAPA graduate, so we approached her and asked if she could get a trio together of WAAPA graduates.
“We’re leaving the jazz standards set list up to them so we don’t pigeonhole them into a certain style and ensure they have enough artistic ownership of what they’re going to do.”
Donohoe said he was personally most looking forward to the hip-hop track and “the Bollywood piece is going to be pretty mindblowing”.
“It’s going to be a fun journey through this style of music,” he said.
THE ESSENTIALS
What: The Two of Us
Where: Perth Modern School
When: September 14
Tickets: bit.ly/2ofuspr
