A New Festival Showcases A Cappella Singing

Short+Sweet Voices is an exciting new festival that will showcase a cappella music for groups and choirs, debuting early in 2015 in the Concert Hall at The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood.

It promises to stretch the boundaries of choral performance, rewarding innovation, excellence and creativity with prizes and awards for both individuals and groups in singing, vocal arrangement and presentation. 

Since its inception in 2002, Short+Sweet has grown from an independent 10-minute play festival in Newtown to an internationally recognised brand with partners and festivals around the world.

 Currently spanning a wide range of genres from theatre, cabaret and musical theatre to dance, youth and comedy Short+Sweet provides audiences with a ‘tasting plate’ of bite-sized morsels of creative work, while priding itself on the development of emerging artists and new work through its consistent format of 10-minute performance. 

Short + Sweet now launches its latest endeavour – a festival aimed at showcasing and developing the extraordinary vocal talent found across Australia. Festival Director is well-known Sydney director Kate Gaul who enthused about the new addition to the Short+Sweet stable.

“Choral music – especially a cappella – is enjoying a booming in the Australian arts scene. Schools, universities, community groups and music companies both amateur and professional are singing their hearts out all over the country. This is festival to welcome them all!”

 Short+Sweet founder and Executive Director, Mark Cleary, said that – as in all Short+Sweet Festivals – the time limit of 10 minutes (or less) was still “non-negotiable”.   

“Beyond that, 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. Be extraordinary!” 

All performances will be presented at Concert Hall of The Concourse in Chatswood with a series of heats 10-14 March climaxing in a Gala Final and Awards Night on Saturday 21 March. 

COMPETITION | ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

All entering choirs and compositions must meet the following requirements:

–          Minimum of 4 people per choir;

–          Performances must not exceed 10 minutes total time;

–          Choral societies and other groups can enter as many choirs as they desire,
            however each singer is limited to a maximum of 2 performances per heat.

 AWARDS | REWARDS

Participating groups will be assessed on their performance by industry judges with selected choirs qualifying for the Gala Final. In addition there will be a nightly audience vote where the ‘People’s Choice’ winners will also proceed to the final.

 Awards will include best overall performance, best original music, best arrangement, best interpretation, most innovative staging and even best choreography!

 Registrations are due by Wednesday 3rd December 2014.

Interested choirs can find out more about this new and exciting Short+Sweet Festival and receive an entry form by contacting Associate Producer, Alana Teasdale.

Click here for more information.