A CAPPELLA SINGING GOES SHORT+SWEET!

Short+Sweet Voices, an exciting new festival of a cappella music for vocal groups and choirs of all shapes and sizes comes to Chatswood in March. 

Groups perform a strictly imposed set up to 10 minutes maximum in front of celebrity and music industry judges – as well as submitting themselves to the People’s Choice – the audience vote! The winners advance to the gala finals on Sat 21 March with honours and prizes on the line.

 Festival Director and veteran arts personality Lenore Robertson said Short+Sweet Voices would “stretch the boundaries of choral performance, rewarding innovation, excellence and creativity”.  It would be a great networking opportunity too, she said, and there are prizes and awards for both individuals and groups in singing, vocal arrangement and presentation. 

The inaugural festival has been leapt upon by more than 50 groups from all across Sydney… and well beyond. They include Pop, Gospel, Barbershop, World, Cuban, African, Gaelic, Arabic, Musical Theatre and even more eclectic genres. Groups with names like Ecopella, Choir of Love, Isingonthecake, the Sea Naturals, Soulfood, Timbre Flaws, Unaccompanied Baggage, Treble Makers and the Cleftomaniacs – among many others – will strut their stuff on the big stage.

 Since its inception in 2002, Short+Sweet has grown from an independent play festival in Newtown to an internationally recognised brand with partners and festivals around Australia & the world in genres from theatre to cabaret and dance. It prides itself on the development of emerging artists and new work that keeps audiences thrilled with its consistent format of 10-minute performance. 

Short + Sweet Voices is its latest endeavour – a festival aimed at showcasing and developing the extraordinary vocal talent found across Australia. 

Short+Sweet founder and Executive Director, Mark Cleary said choral music – especially a cappella – was enjoying a boom in the Australian arts scene. Groups of all levels, from community-based choirs to fully professional ensembles, were forming all the time – with many being inspired by vocal-friendly TV shows like The Sing Off and Glee or movies like Pitch Perfect. 

“Schools, universities, community groups and music companies both amateur and professional are singing their hearts out all over the country. This is the festival to welcome them all! Apart from the 10-minute limit, rules are kept a bare minimum to encourage creativity and imagination in performance and presentation. This is a real chance for choirs and groups to stretch their creative muscles and they’ll be able to do it in a spectacular venue: the Concourse.” 

All performances will be presented at the Concert Hall of The Concourse in Chatswood with a series of heats 3-6 March climaxing in a Gala Final and Awards Night on Saturday 21 March.

Tickets $30 / $25 Bookings www.theconcourse.com.au or or phone 1300 795 012