The Big Sing & Bonfire in the middle of Salamanca (Credit: Festival of Voices)
Entering its eleventh year, this uniquely Tasmanian event combines a robust concert program with workshops and masterclasses. It’s a rare opportunity for aspiring musicians to share the stage and perform together with artists from Australia and abroad.
Culminating in a festival of performances that brings together thousands in celebration, the Festival of Voices (FoV) has an interesting model, and at its core is an entrenched notion of sharing and learning.
Festival Director, Tony Bonney said that the concept of learning and reciprocity was something that was applied to all programs in the festival.
‘This festival works differently, and most of the work that happens in the Festival is through workshops.
‘These workshops are run as accredited programs through the University of Tasmania, so they are legitimate learning experiences,’ said Bonney.
The Exchange, Van Canto, Ella Hooper and David Lawrence are some of the featured artists who will spend five to six to days working with a range of singers and artists in workshops, before performing together.
Performing for the first time on Australian soil are the world’s first heavy metal a cappella band Van Canto, who are champions of the European festival circuit. Guitarist and vocalist Stefan Schmidt said the band was very excited about their Australian debut, and they play for one-night only on 11 July in Hobart.
Schmidt said that the toughest thing about doing heavy metal in a cappella was to maintain constant singing levels throughout a show.
‘When you think of metal and guitars, then you are used to sounds that are sustained and keep on sounding through the whole time.
‘But in the case of a cappella, we have to breathe from time to time. So, the most difficult part is to have a 90-minute show without breathing!
In a studio you can take long breaks, and can record over and over again until the result sits. But in a live situation, you do not have these possibilities,’ said Schmidt.
He also mentioned that the band members try to maintain a fitness level like those of sportspersons, to stay in shape so they could sing uninterrupted. As part of its workshops between 8 and 12 July, the band will have a mixture of choir arrangements like a regular a cappella band and a workshop on the distortion of voice, which is central part of their performances.
Having played at Barrack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, and the late Nelson Mandela’s memorial in 2013, acclaimed a cappella act Sweet Honey in the Rock will be at the FoV after a break of nearly two decades.
‘They are a significant world music outfit. More than 200 people have signed up for the Sweet Honey in the Rock workshop,’ said Bonney.
Australian singer Ella Hooper, who will also be performing and conducting workshops for the first time at the FoV, said that she was looking forward to working with aspiring musicians and songwriters as part of her song writing workshops.
When asked what were a few qualities that songwriters should possess in order to write well, Hooper said that investing in experience was an asset, and uniqueness was a huge benefit.
‘That’s where great writing comes from – by having interesting lives; or an interesting take on life. You may not have a life where much drama happens, but the way you look at things could be interesting or artistic.
‘So I sort of like to promote people feeding their brains and their spirits with lots of other art and interesting experiences,’ she said.
But it’s not only the great acts lined up for the FoV that are a big drawcard for the audiences at the festival – July being the coldest month presents its own opportunities.
‘The cold weather is one of those unique things that frames our festival. It allows us to have a big bonfire and celebrating winter is kind of a nice change for us,’ said Bonney.
The free family event Bonfire & Big Sing is set for 11 July in Salamanca Place and usually attracts over 5,000 people.
‘For me the exciting part is having a massive fire in the middle of a historic city, which is a really rare thing and it’s kind of nice in this heritage site to have 5,000 people gather and sing songs and be part of the festival,’ said Bonney.
Scroll below to see the 2014 Festival of Voices wrap-up video.
The Festival of Voices runs from 2 to 12 July at Hobart, and from 14 to 16 July at Launceston.
For tickets and further information visit the festival website.
