Vox Aeterna Presents FESTIVAL DE LA VOIX 2021 8th Edition

The annual Festival de la Voix presented by Vox Aeterna is back, now in its 8th year. Events will be online, allowing outstanding artists to be enjoyed by audiences everywhere between Sunday, March 14 and Saturday, April 10.

The lineup includes Canadian composers and musicians in four eclectic concerts and three vocal workshops. This spring, livestreamed from venues in the West Island (Dorval, Beaconsfield and Pointe-Claire), Festival de la Voix Founder and Artistic Director Kerry-Anne Kutz welcomes people to come together to explore the beauty, versatility and power of music and the human voice.

Not to be missed on February 28 is a special pre-Festival webcast performance-an excerpt from Handel's Messiah, live from Maison symphonique at Place des Arts, presented by Ensemble Caprice, Ensemble vocal Arts-Québec and Festival de la Voix. The festival's latest edition aspires to uplift with breathtaking music and remarkable performances. Concerts are FREE and will remain online for a limited time (donations gratefully appreciated).

Vox Aeterna, a non-profit organization whose main production is Festival de la Voix, is committed to the support of music in the community, specifically to Quebec artists throughout the pandemic, and is therefore pushing ahead with a second virtual festival. Heading into its eighth season, Kutz is proud to continue promoting live Canadian music and encouraging the development of burgeoning musicians. "We are thrilled that so many artists are able to be part of our concerts and workshops online. These world-class musicians are appreciative of the opportunity to perform and earn some much needed income. Vox Aeterna is dedicated to bringing beautiful live music to the West Island and to the world beyond. We hope that these concerts and workshops will bring joy, solace and a sense of well-being to all who have the opportunity to join us," said Kerry-Anne Kutz.

Every artist is extremely grateful that the festival is pushing ahead in these troubling times, providing them a sense of normalcy through music. This year's diverse mix of styles and voices brings together artists and music in virtual concerts and workshops which will sing to your spirit and inspire you to raise your voices in song.

The Best of Broadway (Sat. March 20, 2pm) is a concert and sing-along encouraging people to belt out Broadway's most beloved musicals at home, led by vocalists Laura Coulter-Low and Erin Berger, with pianist Michael Woytiuk. Transporting people to NYC stages are favourites including "The Sound of Music", "Mary Poppins", "Westside Story" and "Chicago" among many more. Roots, Blues & Spirituals (Sun. March 28, 3pm) features award-winning Rob Lutes, Dr. Floydd Ricketts and Alexandra Asher. One of Canada's best singer-songwriters, Lutes sings and plays his unique blend of blues and folk featuring tunes from his new album Come Around, while Ricketts and Asher perform spirituals and gospel with voices that are hard to forget. Rendez-vous with Quartom (Sat. April 10, 8pm) has the lauded male vocal quartet and their fabulous pipes highlighting an a cappella repertoire while also replicating Poulenc's piano, the Beatles' and Queens' bands, Mozart's clarinets and even an entire orchestra. In this concert we feel the many stages of love and relationships with epic, tragic, romantic love and everything in between as expressed by Handel, 16th century composer Certon, Mendelssohn, Frida Boccara, Jacques Brel, and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. The hour-long collection of excerpts from Handel's Messiah (Sun. February 28, 2:30pm) is an extraordinary musical event featuring internationally acclaimed artists Ensemble Caprice, Ensemble vocal Arts-Québec, soprano Karina Gauvin, and Matthias Maute, conductor. It will be performed in the instrumental and vocal style of the period.

High-calibre workshops on offer this year via Zoom include Vocal Technique with Dr. Claudel Callender (Sat. March 20) focussing on working on the body as an instrument and how to preserve the voice; Songwriting with Connie Kaldor (Sun. March 21) touching on the main elements of rhythm, melody and lyrics and hopefully culminating with the beginning of a few new songs; and Master Class for Soloists with Natalie Choquette (Saturday, March 27) where the soprano and actor will work with people on their solos to create their ideal stage performance.

Festival de la Voix is unique-including concerts and workshops for people of all ages; bringing communities together to celebrate music in all its forms. The festival was founded in 2012 by soprano, singer-songwriter and voice teacher Kerry-Anne Kutz along with her friends and students Sonia Castiglione and Sheila Faour-Warren. Kutz wanted her students and the wider community to have the opportunity to hear excellent professional singers and instrumentalists in concert and to learn from these artists in workshops and masterclasses. The mandate also includes a platform for emerging artists to perform in a professional setting. Eight years later, Festival de la Voix has produced concerts of many musical genres, highlighting some of Quebec's finest artists. Choirs from across Quebec and Canada have also come to sing and participate in workshops since the festival's inception.

Learn at festivaldelavoix.com.

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