Vocalconsort Berlin

The Vocalconsort Berlin was founded in 2003 and, in the same year, had its successful debut at the Innsbruck Festival Week in Claudio Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" under the direction of Rene Jacobs.

The Berlin based ensemble, whose ambitious members have also been able to gather experience in other internationally active chamber choirs is particularly specialized in early Baroque and Baroque. In addition, the Vocalconsort Berlin presents new interpretations of romantic and contemporary music.

The variability and flexibility of the Vocalconsort's composition, which can range from double quartet to multi-choir performance while at the same time allowing for the inclusion of solo performances, gives the Vocalconsort Berlin the ability to perform both in concert format as well as on the opera and theatrical stage.

VocalEssence

Founded in 1969 under the name Plymouth Music Series, VocalEssence is recognized internationally for innovative exploration of music for voices and instruments. Each year the organization presents an engaging collection of concerts featuring the 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus and its core group, the 32-voice professional mixed chorus called the Ensemble Singers, along with soloists and instrumentalists. There is no organization quite like VocalEssence in its range, variety and quality of performance.

The Plymouth Music Series was founded by Philip Brunelle, now one of Minnesota's most recognized musical entrepreneurs, as an arts outreach program of Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. The Series immediately established the marks of its future success: world, United States, and Midwest premieres; famous guest artists; commissions of new works (over 115 to date); and a reputation for surprise.

Voces Nordicae

The vocal ensemble Voces Nordicae comes from the scenery of Swedish choral tradition. In 1999 the ensemble was founded by the Danish conductor Lone Larsen and it consists of 16 professional singers. The repertoire of Voces Nordicae is varied, including works from essentially all periods of music history, with special attention to Nordic, contemporary and improvisatory music.

Open minded towards new timbres, Voces Nordicae combines a pleasant light blend with surprising and ventured sounds. Repertoire and programs are selected with great care, and encompass a wide span of musical and human expression. This interesting variation together with the desire to transmit the music through a scenic presence brings attention and curiosity to the audience.

In 2008 Voces Nordicae was selected Choir of the Year in Sweden by Concerts Sweden.

Voces8

VOCES8's career has developed both in the classical choral scene and the world of a cappella. In 2009, the group's first commercial album, EVENSONG, was nominated for a CARA. The group's most recent release, ACES HIGH, is a scintillating collection of VOCES8's unique interpretations of jazz and pop favourites and theme tunes from the legendary James Bond movies and is on general release on the Signum Classics label. The group's latest release on the Signum label is a collection of motets by J. S. Bach.

Notable London appearances include the Royal Festival Hall, the Wigmore Hall, Alexandra Palace, Kings Place, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. VOCES8 broadcasts regularly on international television and radio, including live recordings for Deutschlandradio Kultur and Radio France Musique.

Voena

Voena (Voices of Eve 'N Angels), founded in 1994, has performed for Presidents Clinton and Bush in Washington D.C. and Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome. As goodwill ambassadors, they have toured with their message of celebrating global diversity to China, Mexico, Italy, Greece, and Japan - from the White House, Mondavi Music Festival, Davies Hall to Carnegie Hall. With 100 + voices ranging in age from 6 to 18, VOENA achieves rich and inventive a cappella vocal arrangements by using multiple percussion instruments, dance, and theatrical elements, performing in a splash of color, and embracing our many cultural differences.

Voices of Ascension

Voices of Ascension seeks to enthrall its audiences through outstanding performances and exemplary interpretations of choral music. It sustains a vibrant artistic community of professional vocal and instrumental musicians in New York City through a broad repertory, dynamic programming, and strategic collaborations across the tri-state area.

Volti

Volti's professional vocalists, under the direction of founder and Artistic Director Robert Geary, are dedicated to the discovery, creation, and performance of new vocal music. The ensemble's mission is to encourage, foster and showcase contemporary American music and composers, and to introduce contemporary vocal music from around the world to local audiences.

>In the fall of 1979, Robert Geary established The San Francisco Chamber Singers, opening that first season with an all-Bach program. Quickly favoring the music of Benjamin Britten, the choir soon began to sharpen its focus on today's music, and by the 1990s was focusing almost exclusively on premieres and commissions by living composers from the U.S. and abroad.

Vox Aurea Choir

Vox Aurea ("The Golden Voice") is a children's choir formed from the special music classes of the city of Jyvaskyla, Finland. The choir consists of 35-45 singers aged 11-17. The conductor of the choir is Sanna Salminen.

Vox Aurea was founded in 1968 and its first conductor was Torsten Lindfors. His successor, Kari Ala-Pollanen, was appointed conductor of the illustrious Tapiola Choir in 1994. Under Pekka Kostiainen since 1994 the choir continued to exel in varied and demanding repertoire the emphasis being on modern works, most of them composed by Pekka Kostiainen.

The singers in Vox Aurea are aged 11-17. They are chosen for the choir after auditioning. There are also two training choirs for younger singers to practise choir singing before joining Vox Aurea.

Voz en Punto

This exceptional ensemble, founded by its director Jose Galvan in 1990, has focused its artistic energy on the highly colorful arena of Mexican culture; nevertheless, it is capable of interpreting with equal success a wide variety of music, from pieces of Mexican colonial polyphony from the 16th and 17th centuries, songs in native tongues and/or with African influences, up to folklore and music of living Mexican concert composers. As if this repertoire weren't versatile enough, the group has also presented programs consisting of European composers, including motets and madrigals; Latin-American music, from tangos to Cuban music and Brazilian bossa-nova; negro spirituals, etc., etc.

It is within the context of this great talent, vocal aplomb, charisma, and interpretative flair, in which each member of Voz en Punto places his or her own seal. The end result is an audience which becomes-to quote the group's press notes-"Ecstatic", "On Fire", or "Delirious". Such adjectives would hardly seem to describe a vocal group which achieves its effects without the aid of microphones or other paraphernalia. Voz en Punto is, indeed, the irrefutable proof that the voice is the most glorious instrument which humankind has always had at its disposition.

Wells Cathedral Choir

Wells Cathedral Choir has recently been hailed by Gramophone Magazine as 'probably the finest English cathedral choir at the moment' in 'world-class form'.

In December 2010 it was named by an international jury, again of Gramophone Magazine, as the sixth greatest choir in the world and the highest ranking choir with children in the world.

The choir celebrated its 1100th anniversary in 2009: boys first sang at Wells Cathedral in 909 and the full choral tradition dates back over 800 years. In 1994 the choral foundation at Wells was enriched by the addition of girl choristers. Today the choir consists of eighteen boy choristers, eighteen girl choristers and twelve Vicars Choral (the men of the choir). The boys and girls usually sing separately with the Vicars Choral but occasionally come together for larger events and tours.

Western Wind

Since 1969, the internationally acclaimed vocal sextet, The Western Wind, has devoted itself to the special beauty and variety of a cappella music. The Ensemble's repertoire reveals its diverse background - from Renaissance motets to Fifties rock 'n' roll, from medieval carols to Duke Ellington, from complex works by avant-garde composers to the simplest folk melodies.

In addition to maintaining a demanding performance schedule, which has included such venues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, ArtPark, The Ordway Theater, The Metropolitan Museum, The Frick Museum, The Jewish Museum, Folger Shakespeare Library, Library of Congress, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Western Wind regularly conducts Workshops in Ensemble Singing. The workshops, attended by vocalists ranging from novice to professional, address the particular challenges of singing in small, largely un-conducted ensembles.

Westminster Cathedral Choir

Westminster Cathedral Choir is acclaimed as one of the world's great choirs. Since its foundation in 1903 it has occupied a unique and enviable position at the forefront of English church music, not least because of the ground-breaking work of its first Master of Music, Richard Terry, who revived the great works of the English and continental Renaissance composers. The choir's fame grew under Terry as it presented this forgotten music, revolutionising attitudes to the repertoire. Innovation continued under George Malcolm who pioneered the development of the choir's sound along continental lines, resulting in a choir that was truly revolutionary in both what and how it sang. The choir continues these traditions under its present Master of Music, Martin Baker, and it remains the only Catholic Cathedral choir in the world to sing daily Mass and Vespers. More recent holders of the post have included Colin Mawby, Stephen Cleobury, David Hill and James O'Donnell.

Westminster Choir

Setting the standard for choral excellence for 90 years, the Westminster Choir is composed of students at Westminster Choir College, a division of Rider University's Westminster College of the Arts, in Princeton, N.J. It has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The ensemble's 2010-2011 season includes a concert tour of Florida, performances at its home in Princeton, a broadcast of Westminster's annual An Evening of Readings and Carols holiday concert and its annual residency at the Spoleto Festival USA.

Its second recording with Maestro Miller, Noel, was released in September. A collection of French Christmas music and sacred works, the recording also features Westminster alumna Jennifer Larmore, the most recorded mezzo-soprano of our era, and organist Ken Cowan, a member of Westminster's faculty. The recording is also the centerpiece of the PRI Radio broadcast Noel - A Christmas from Paris, hosted by Bill McGlaughlin.

William Ferris Chorale

The William Ferris Chorale brings Chicago audiences new and unexpected choral music in programs highlighting music written by living composers.

Young People's Chorus of New York City

For more than two decades, the Young People's Chorus of New York City has provided children of all ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds with a unique program of music education and choral performance, while maintaining a model of artistic excellence and harmony that enriches the community.

YPC was founded by YPC Artistic Director Francisco J. Nunez in 1988 and has become one of the most celebrated and influential children's choruses in the world, performing around the globe, releasing acclaimed recordings from across the musical spectrum, and collaborating with many of the most highly regarded composers, performers, and organizations of our time. Through its celebrated Transient Glory series of concerts, publications, and CDs, the chorus has commissioned well over 50 new works from composers that include Pulitzer Prize, Oscar, and MacArthur "genius" grant winners and regularly collaborates with such major artists and institutions as Carnegie Hall, The New York Pops, the Stephen Petronio Dance Company, the Kronos Quartet, and American Ballet Theatre, among many others.