Voices of Spirit
About the festival
Already for the 8. time the international choir festival “Voices of Spirit” takes place in Graz, the secret choir capital of Austria. Since we had to hold our festival semi-virtually in 2021, we are even more excited to be able to perform live and in front of an audience again this year. This year’s theme is “New Horizons”. Full of courage and optimism, we want to give new perspectives and impulses for choral singing. In addition to exploring new musical horizons, we want to provide answers to burning questions in workshops and a panel discussion, such as: How is a “new start” possible for choral singing after Corona? What have we learned in the pandemic and could the crisis even become an opportunity for new ways?
International stars at Voices of Spirit
We are especially pleased to have the acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8 as artists in residence. The ensemble members will showcase their special class at a gala concert and share their knowledge at ensemble coaching sessions and a masterclass in choral conducting.
The festival will open with a vocal bang, the “Long Night of the Choirs“, during which 40 choirs will make the old town of Graz resound. This will be followed by a dense series of concerts performed by our festival choirs – for the first time also in the Open Air Museum Stübing.
At the heart of “Voices of Spirit” are the workshops with renowned speakers. You will find exciting topics such as choral music from Ukraine, vocal improvisation, singing with the generation 60-plus, beatboxing, arranging pop songs or a workshop for children’s choirs with the specialist Paul Smith (UK).
I wish the participating choirs interesting and enriching encounters and all of us exciting and inspiring concerts with unforgettable moments!
