Voces8

Voces8
Voces8 in 2019
Voces8 in 2019
Background information
OriginEngland
GenreA cappella music
Years active2005 (2005)–present
Labels
Websitevoces8.com Edit this at Wikidata

Voces8, styled VOCES8, is an a cappella octet from England. They have appeared internationally and made recordings of classical music, jazz, pop, and their own arrangements. Recent recordings are for Decca Classics and under their own label, Voces8 Records. Educational efforts are run by the Voces8 Foundation.

History

VOCES8 is a British vocal ensemble originally founded in 2003 and regrouped in 2005 by brothers Paul and Barnaby Smith, both former choristers of Westminster Abbey. For most of its history, the ensemble has contained two sopranos, two countertenors, two tenors, a baritone and a bass. By 2018, one of the countertenors had been replaced by a female alto.

The ensemble has a diverse repertoire, including early English and European Renaissance music, traditional folk song, classic jazz, pop, and their own arrangements. They have appeared internationally, touring especially in Europe, Asia, and North America.

LIVE from London is an online choral festival and broadcast series founded in 2020 by VOCES8 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting professionally produced performances by vocal ensembles and artists from the United Kingdom and internationally, with selected participants including The Tallis Scholars, VOCES8, Take 6, I Fagiolini, London Adventist Chorale, ANÚNA, amarcord, The Aeolians, Apollo5, The King's Singers, and Stile Antico.

VOCES8 has commissioned new works from composers such as Ēriks Ešenvalds, Ola Gjeilo, Jonathan Dove, Jocelyn Hagen, Ken Burton, Roderick Williams, Alexander Levine, Roxanna Panufnik, Mårten Jansson, Ben Parry, and Christopher Tin. Jim Clements is their arranger-in-residence.

The octet won the Limelight International Artist of the Year: People's Choice award at the 2021 Limelight Awards.

Their 2022 tour programme was called Stardust, after a composition commissioned from Taylor Scott Davis.

In June 2025, VOCES8 marked its twentieth anniversary with an official anniversary concert at the Barbican Centre on 8 June, joined by the VOCES8 Scholars, former members of the ensemble, and the BBC Singers. Reviewing the concert, The Guardian noted the participation of alumni, apprentices, violinist Jack Liebeck and the BBC Singers, and described the event as a celebratory twentieth-anniversary performance.

In March 2026, VOCES8 announced that first tenor Blake Morgan would transition into the role of VOCES8 Ambassador and Associate Artist from the 2026-27 season, and that the ensemble would begin a search for a new singer to fill the tenor seat.

Members

Current

Voces8 in a joint concert with Chanticleer for the Rheingau Musik Festival, June 2026

Current members are as follows:

Former

The ensemble's former members are:

Timeline

Lineup

Period First Soprano Second Soprano First Alto/Countertenor Second Alto/Countertenor First Tenor Second Tenor Baritone Bass
2005–2006 Rachel Major Catherine Backhouse Daniel Keating-Roberts Barnaby Smith Charles MacDougall Thomas Elwin Paul Smith Simon Whiteley
2006–2007 Robin Bailey Greg Hallam
2007–2008 Chris Wardle Dingle Yandell
2008–2009 Andrea Haines
2009–2012 Emily Dickens Robert Smith
2012–2013 Oliver Vincent
2013–2015 Sam Dressel
2015–2016 Jonathan Pacey
2016–2017 Blake Morgan Rob Clark
2017–2018 Eleonore Cockerham
2018–2019 Katie Jeffries-Harris Chris Moore
2019–2021 Euan Williamson
2021–2022 Molly Noon
2022–2024 Dominic Carver
2025–2026 Savannah Porter Eleonora Poignant
2026-present Virginia Grabovsky Riley Eddins

VOCES8 Foundation

The VOCES8 Foundation (formerly VCM Foundation) is a UK-registered charity, set up by VOCES8 founder members Paul and Barnaby Smith in 2006 to develop the ensemble's music education and outreach programmes. Awarded a Classic FM (UK) Public Choice Award at the 2020 Music & Drama Education Awards, the charity works across choral and small vocal ensemble performance and education and is based at the VOCES8 Centre at St Anne and St Agnes Church in the City of London.

Performance

Voces8 in concert at Unionskirche, Idstein as part of the Rheingau Musik Festival, 8 August 2026

Foundation artists perform around 200 concerts each year, including through online/livestreaming. In 2026, Voces8 were artists in residence of the Rheingau Musik Festival.

Education

Foundation artists reach up to 40,000 people a year in regular workshops and masterclasses with Music Hubs, schools and community groups. In 2015 the ensemble launched the VOCES8 Scholars Programme which provides training in performing, recording and workshop leading for 20 young singers with an interest in choral singing in the UK and USA.

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic they launched the VOCES8 Digital Academy featuring tutorials, exercises, learning and performing tracks and videos.

Discography

The group has recorded with Decca, Signum, and their own Voces8 Records label. As part of their 15th anniversary celebrations in 2020, the group released their project After Silence, consisting of four digital EPs.

Albums

EPs

Collaborations

Music books

References

  1. 1 2 3 Quinn, John (November 2012). "Voces8. Christmas". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Riley, Malcolm (December 2016). "Voces8: Winter". Gramophone. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "What sweeter music: Online broadcast for Abbey Christmas concert". Westminster Abbey. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 Dixon, Gavin (November 2012). "Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) / Motets". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Voces8 / Group / History". www.singers.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Voces 8". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Live from London festival announced for Christmas 2021". Classical Music. 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  8. ↑ Bernard Hughes (27 December 2020). "VOCES8 Live from London online review: part 2 – An assortment box of Christmas choral treats". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Where all roses are white". Opera Today. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "A Whisper of Paradise from Dublin showcases ANÚNA's instantly recognisable and finely honed sound". Seen and Heard International. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Paget, Clive (23 November 2021). "VOCES8 (Limelight International Artist of the Year: People's Choice)". Limelight. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  12. ↑ "OÖ. Stiftskonzerte prunkten mit Vokalem und Instrumentalem". Salzburger Nachrichten. APA. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "VOCES8 20th Anniversary Concert". Barbican Centre. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Morrison, Richard (9 June 2025). "Voces8 review - agile and poised vocal group celebrate 20 years, with a little help from their friends". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  15. ↑ Salazar, David (6 March 2026). "VOCES8 Announces New Role for Tenor Blake Morgan". OperaWire. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "VOCES8 – Artists". VOCES8. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "VOCES8 concert programmes". Barbican Centre. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  18. ↑ Salazar, David (6 March 2026). "VOCES8 Announces New Role for Tenor Blake Morgan". OperaWire. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Haines, Andrea (May 2020). "Andrea's Archives: The First Forage". YouTube. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  20. ↑ Seymour, Claire (July 2019). "The VOCES8 Foundation is launched at St Anne & St Agnes". Opera Today. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  21. ↑ "VOCES8 Foundation wins at the Music & Drama Education Awards". Ikon Arts | Edition Peters. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  22. ↑ "Performance". VOCES8 Foundation. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "VOCES8 Scholars". VOCES8 Foundation. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  24. ↑ "Learn from the masters of sacred music". Aleteia.org. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  25. ↑ "After Silence". Voces8. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  26. 1 2 "Classic FM". classicfm.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Voces8 / Group / History". Signum Records. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 "Voces8 / Recent releases". Decca Records. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  29. ↑ Manheim, James. "Equinox Review". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  30. 1 2 "VOCES8". www.deccaclassics.com. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  31. ↑ Seymour, Claire. "After Silence: VOCES8". operatoday.com. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  32. ↑ Webb, Dan (1 December 2018). "Review: Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 1". Sungenre. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  33. ↑ "Mårten Jansson – Requiem Novum". VOCES8. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  34. ↑ "Christopher Tin – The Lost Birds". christophertin.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.