London A Cappella Festival

The London A Cappella Festival is an annual series of concerts based at Kings Place, London showcasing some of the finest a cappella acts from around the world, curated by the five-time Grammy-winning vocal group The Swingle Singers and Ikon Arts Management. The aim of the festival is to celebrate the human voice in all the wide-ranging musical forms; including choral singing, beatbox, barbershop, gospel music, close-harmony, pop and jazz.^[1]

Inaugural Festival 2010

The inaugural London A Cappella Festival ran from 13 to 16 January 2010 at Kings Place, the arts venue at Kings Cross. Artists performing in the festival included early music ensemble Stile Antico, pop/jazz group Voces8, Oxford's a cappella collegiate favourites Out of the Blue, gospel stars London Adventist Chorale, and the Swingle Singers. Free foyer performances with groups such as The Oxford Gargoyles, and afternoon workshops made up the remainder of the festival programme.^[2]

2011 Festival

After the success of the inaugural festival, the second London A Cappella Festival took place in January 2011 at Kings Place, curated once again by the Swingle Singers and Ikon Arts Management. Headline acts included Swedish vocal superstars The Real Group, Belgian a cappella sensation Witloof Bay (with beatbox legend Roxorloops), as well as festival hosts The Swingle Singers, as well as performances by the London Bulgarian Choir, London’s versatile vocal ensemble Eclectic Voices, Winners of the Office Choir of the Year 2010, and Hertfordshire Chorus.^[3]

2012 Festival

The 2012 Festival again featured some the most established and up and coming acts on the circuit including: the Vasari Singers directed by Jeremy Backhouse, The Boxettes featuring beatbox champion Bellatrix, Cadence, the best of British Barbershop from Cottontown Chorus, London Vocal Project, The Swingle Singers and, making their London debut, Scandinavian sensations FORK.^[4] There was also free foyer performances and workshops from established vocal educators such as Pete Churchill.^[5]

2013 Festival

The London A Cappella Festival 2013 showcased some of the best of choral, jazz and contemporary ensembles. Headline acts included the UK’s most prominent a cappella groups such as The Magnets (supported by collegiate a cappella champions, All the King’s Men), the esteemed King’s Singers and the festival hosts, The Swingle Singers – the latter of which kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations at the festival.^[6] Other headline acts included leading university choral group the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, Danish vocal innovators Postyr, and Canadian favourites Retrocity.^[7] The festival’s jam packed schedule also included a series of workshops, foyer performances, talks and interactive events. The festival also marked the launched of London A Cappella's new project, the London A Cappella International Summer School. The inaugural course will be in August 2014 at Kings Place.^[8]

2014 Festival

Celebrating its 5th year, the 2014 festival promises to offer "an unrivalled opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of a cappella".^[9] In this landmark year, the festival welcomes internationally regarded headlines including The House Jacks (USA), The Real Group (Sweden), Slix (Germany), Backstep with Bellatrix (UK), The Songmen (UK), the Time Ensemble (a true 'World Choir' with members drawn from all over the world), festival hosts The Swingle Singers (UK) and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (Estonia). The latter of which will be performing at LSO St Luke's, a first for the London A Cappella Festival. The festival will continue to host an array of foyer performances and workshops at Kings Place led by prominent vocal educators and performers such as Dominic Peckham, Deke Sharon and Bob Chilcott.^[10]

External links

• London A Cappella Festival
• Ikon Arts Management
• The Swingle Singers
• Kings Place

References