The Voice Project (music)


Background

The Voice Project is an open-access singing project, based in Norwich, England. It is a Registered Charity and a Limited Company. It was created by singers Siân Croose and Jonathan Baker in 2008 and since then it has involved hundreds of singers in performances of new vocal music as well as workshops designed to build vocal confidence and explore a wide variety of uplifting and inspiring vocal music. In 2018, it established a choir in Brighton and has run two projects with performances in Sussex since then.
Music is taught by ear, and there is no need to be able to read music. Scores and sound files are provided to support individual learning, outside of rehearsals. Typically, two performances are given each year, one in the late Spring / early Summer, the other in December or January. Performances are often site-specific, making use of the all the space available to tell a story.
is a singer, conductor and performance maker with over 30 years experience creating and directing music projects in the UK. After an apprenticeship in bands and alternative theatre, she trained on the Community Music programme founded by John Stevens. She has run choirs, vocal ensembles, and workshops for singers since 1990, and performed with composer Helen Chadwick and a cappella ensemble Human Music in a wide range of UK festivals and performance projects. Composition projects include , a wordless systems-based a cappella project for women's voices and The Dawn Chorus with American composer Brendan Taaffe. She runs Norwich – based choir , regularly commissioning new music from award-winning songwriter Chris Wood and others, and performing with storyteller Hugh Lupton and multi-instrumentalist .
Jon Baker is a singer, teacher and composer who has written extensively for TV, radio and theatre. He is a founder member of with whom he has toured throughout Europe and North America. He is co-founder of The Voice Project and also a co-founder of .

Projects

Since its inception, the Voice Project has often been commissioned to produce a show for performance at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival in May. In addition, in most years, there has also been a winter project for performance in December or January.
YearProject
2008In Tsegihi
2009[|I Prefer the Gorgeous Freedom], Winter Songs
2010[|Recording Angel], Winter Songs
2011[|Glossolalia], [|The Proportions of the Temple], Winter Songs
2012Singing the City, [|City of Strangers]
2013[|Ideas of Flight], [|Nocturne]
2014[|Souvenir], Lost & Found
2015[|The Observatory]
2016Norwich Over The Water, [|Red Shift]
2017[|The Arms of Sleep], [|Between Stars]
2018[|Travels in Light], [|Timepiece], [|The Sky is Full of Light]
2019Nocturne, [|I Reach Right Up to the Sun], [|And is This a Dream]

In Tsegihi

Commissioned from Jon Hassell by Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and performed in Norwich Cathedral in May 2008. Music performed by Jon Hassell, Peter Freeman, Jan Bang and Pete Lockett. Sound and Sound Design by Arnaud Mercier.

I Prefer the Gorgeous Freedom{{Cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/gwilym-simcock-queen-elizabeth-hall|title=Gwilym Simcock, Queen Elizabeth Hall The Arts Desk|website=theartsdesk.com|access-date=2019-03-28}}

Commissioned from Gwilym Simcock by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Sage Gateshead, and performed in Norwich Cathedral, Sage Gateshead, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The London concert was broadcast by BBC Radio 3. Music performed by Gwilym Simcock, Yuri Goloubev, Klaus Gesing and James Maddren. Solo singers were , , and Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Winter Songs (2009)

Norwich Catholic Cathedral December. Solo singers: Bex Mather & , & Siân Croose, & Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Recording Angel

Commissioned from Arve Henriksen and Jan Bang by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in Norwich Cathedral in May 2010. Music performed by Arve Henriksen and Jan Bang. Solo singers were , , and Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Winter Songs (2010)

Norwich Catholic Cathedral December. Music performed by Lewis Wright and . Solo singers: Sianed Jones & Helen Chadwick, & Siân Croose, & Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Glossolalia

Commissioned from Andy Sheppard by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed as part of '' in Coutances, Normandy, Northern France in 2010, and also at Sage Gateshead as part of Gateshead International Jazz Festival in March 2007.
Music performed by Andy Sheppard, John Parricelli, Kuljit Bamra. Solo singers were , and Jonathan Baker. The Coutances Choir with The Voice Project Choir were conducted by Siân Croose.

The Proportions of the Temple

Commissioned from Nik Bärtsch by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in Norwich Cathedral in May 2011. Music performed by Nik Bärtsch and . Solo singers were , , and Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Winter Songs (2011)

This piece was performed in Norwich Cathedral in December 2011.
Music performed by . The Voice Project Quintet were & Helen Chadwick, & Siân Croose and & Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Singing the City (From Dawn to Dusk)

This piece was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in various locations around Norwich in May 2012.
Composed by Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick, Jonathan Baker and . The Voice Project Quartet were , Rebecca Askew, and Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

City of Strangers

This piece was performed in the Friends Meeting House, Norwich on 15 December 2012.
Composed by Karen Wimhurst, Jonathan Baker, Orlando Gough. The Voice Project Quintet were ; , Siân Croose, ; & Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Ideas of Flight

This piece was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in Norwich Cathedral on 11 May 2013 and at St. Benet's Abbey on 13 May 2013.
Music composed by Barbara Thompson, Orlando Gough, Karen Wimhurst and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by Andy Sheppard and . The Voice Project Quintet were , and Siân Croose, and Jonathan Baker. 'The Birds of East London' was read by Stephen Watts. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Nocturne

This piece was performed in Norwich Cathedral on 14 December 2013.
Musicians: Derek Scurll and . The Voice Project Quintet were , & Siân Croose, & Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Souvenir

This piece was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed on Holkham Hall estate on 17 May 2014.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick, Karen Wimhurst and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by Bold as Brass Quartet and Derek Scurll. Solo singers were , , and Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Lost and Found

This piece was performed in Norwich City Hall on 6 December 2014.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick, Karen Wimhurst, Jonathan Baker and , Music performed by . Sound Design was by Bill Vine, Lighting Design by Tim Tracey, and Lighting by Pip Cotterell. Human Music were , Helen Chadwick, , Siân Croose, , , Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

The Observatory

The Observatory was a site-responsive piece presented as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and created as part of a partnership with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and the University of East Anglia. The piece was an exploration of humankind's relationship with space - and our gradual attempts to understand and explore it with the poetic, the scientific and the musical. Weightlessness, distance, fear of the unknown, infinity and astronomical geometry inspired this piece which was staged in and around the SCVA. The SCVA provided a futuristic background for this piece which informed the design of the show – and also the opportunity for the audience to experience this iconic building quite differently. There was a choir of 200 and an audience of 750 across 3 shows.
Commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Music composed by Orlando Gough, Karen Wimhurst, Siân Croose and Jonathan Baker. Performed at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts on 9th/10th May 2015. Music performed by Joby Burgess, BJ Cole, , Steve Saunders & Lewis Edney. The Voice Project quintet were , , Greg Tassell and Jonathan Baker. Lighting design was done by Tim Tracey. The Astronomy Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Norwich Over the Water (Singing the City)

Norwich Over the Water was a promenade outdoor choral piece around the River Wensum and Norwich University of the Arts quad in Norwich's historic centre of the textile and dyeing industries. Taking place on a Saturday afternoon, the piece started at The Octagon Chapel and processed across bridges to a finale in the quad of Norwich University of the Arts. There was a choir of 110 and an estimated audience of 2,500.
Part of Vocal Invention 2016. The Voice Project Sextet were Bex Mather & , & Siân Croose, & Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Red Shift{{Cite web|url=http://journalofmusic.com/listing/04-01-16/red-shift-voice-project-choir|title=Red Shift - The Voice Project Choir|website=The Journal of Music: News, Reviews & Opinion Music Jobs & Opportunities|language=en|access-date=2019-03-28}}

This piece was performed on 23 January 2016 in St. Andrews Hall, Norwich. It was the last show delivered as part of the 'Singing the City' programme, and it was a seated performance in a well-known Norwich building, which was used in an unusual way. It marked the turning of the year with choral music that took us from the dark of winter to the promise of spring, exploring the themes of dark and light, hibernation and awakening. This was the Project's most successful self-produced show to date, with two sold-out performances and the largest winter choir assembled.
Music composed by Karen Wimhurst, Siân Croose and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by Rowland Sutherland and Donna-Maria Landowski. The Voice Project Quintet were & , Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

The Arms of Sleep

This co-commission between the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, the Brighton International Festival and the Voice Project was performed six times at the Assembly House in Norwich as part of the 2017 Norfolk & Norwich Festival and four times at Firle Place Riding School as part of the 2018 Brighton International Festival. Taking the form of an overnight performance, forty audience members joined the choir, soloists and instrumentalists for a ten-hour piece during which time the audience slept, were read to, were woken up for a 2.30am ‘dream sequence’ performance and eventually woken again at 7am for breakfast and a final choral show. There was a choir of 105 and an audience of 240 for the six shows in Norwich.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Jonathan Baker, Helen Chadwick & Jon Hopkins. The Voice Project Quintet were & , Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Between Stars

This site-responsive piece took place in Norwich Cathedral on 23 January 2017 – making extensive use of the space in a carefully choreographed promenade performance. The seating was removed from the nave to allow the performers to move freely throughout the space and to increase the effect of the lighting design. There was a choir of 150 and an estimated audience of 500 across two performances.
Music composed by Jonathan Baker, Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick and Siân Croose. Music performed by Esther Hopkinson, Hefin Miles, John Mudd, , Jeron Gundersen. The Voice Project quintet were , & Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Travels in Light

This piece was performed on 20 January 2018 in three churches along Princes Street in Norwich - St. Georges near the junction with Tombland, St. Peter Hungate near the corner of Elm Hill, and the United Reformed Church opposite. It was the third part of the 'Arms of Sleep' trilogy of performances related to sleep, waking and dreaming - following on from Between Stars in January 2017 and The Arms of Sleep in May 2017.
Music composed by Jonathan Baker, Orlando Gough, , Siân Croose, Helen Chadwick, Karen Wimhurst. Music performed by . The Voice Project quintet were & , Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. Lighting design was done by Tim Tracey. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Timepiece

Timepiece was an ambitious project, performed in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral, involving performances on the hour every hour between midday and midnight on 25 May 2018. It involved four choirs, a professional quintet and instrumentalists. It was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and was free to the general public.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Jonathan Baker, Jason Dixon, Erin McDonnell, Siân Croose, Meredith Monk, Helen Chadwick & . Music performed by Chris Dowding and Derek Scurll. The Voice Project Quintet were , Sharon Dunant, Siân Croose, and Jon Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

The Sky is Full of Light{{Cite web|url=http://norwicheye.co.uk/whats-on/norwich-eye-reviews-the-sky-is-full-of-light/|title=Norwich Eye reviews The Sky is Full of Light Norwich eye|website=norwicheye.co.uk|access-date=2019-03-28}}

This piece was performed on 22 December 2018 in St. Andrews Hall, Norwich. It was a celebration of the Voice Project's 10th Birthday, and 15 years since its first new commission. The programme included highlights from the past 15 years, plus a first performance of "Everything Is Going To Be Alright" – words by Derek Mahon set to music by Jonathan Baker.
Music composed by , Jonathan Baker, Gwilym Simcock, Andy Sheppard, , Orlando Gough and Barbara Thompson. Music performed by Andy Sheppard, , Donna-Marie Landowski, . The Voice Project Quintet were , , Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. Lighting design was done by Tim Tracey. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Nocturne (Songs for a Winters Night)

This piece was performed on 9 February 2019 in St. Mary's Church, Bungay. For the most part, it was a reprise of The Sky is Full of Light, with some changes due to the unavailability of Andy Sheppard. It was performed in candlelight to a full house.
Music composed by Helen Chadwick, Jonathan Baker, , Orlando Gough and Barbara Thompson. Music performed by . The Voice Project Quartet were , Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. Lighting design was done by Tim Tracey. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

I Reach Right Up to the Sun

This piece was performed on 6 July 2019 at Houghton Hall. It was a promenade performance in the grounds of the Palladian house built in the 1720s for Britain's first Prime Minister, at a time when they were hosting a year-long exhibition of works by Henry Moore, James Turrell, Richard Long and Rachel Whiteread.
Music composed by Helen Chadwick, Jonathan Baker, and Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Quartet were , , Siân Croose, , Jonathan Baker. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

And is This a Dream?

This is the first project to be developed with both the Norwich and Brighton choirs concurrently, in Autumn 2019. It was performed on 16 November 2019 at , and 30 November 2019 at . The two venues were quite different in nature - All Saints being a late Victorian gothic revival building that had been the parish church of Hove since 1892 and St. Mary's Works being a former shoe factory which has been empty since 1972 but is the subject of ambitious development plans.
There were sixteen songs, each one of which depicted a dreamscape. The audience were taken on a journey through buildings that have been inhabited by others for over a century, evoking the half-lit, liminal world of dreaming. The title ‘…And is This a Dream?’ is inspired by The Birds of East London by the poet Stephen Watts, a long-term Voice Project collaborator.
Music composed by Helen Chadwick, Orlando Gough and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by and Steve Morgan. The Voice Project Quintet were , , Siân Croose, and Jonathan Baker. Lighting design was done by Nathan Clarke. The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.

Workshops

The Voice Project run a variety of courses as part of an open-access education programme, called 'Open Voices'. These are run between performance seasons:
  • Singing from Scratch
  • Starting to Read Music for Singers
  • Mens Voices - see Future Plans below.
  • Women's Voices - see Future Plans below.
  • Tuning In - music and mindfulness
  • Choir Skills
  • Creative Voices - improvisation
  • Voice Project Intensives - an opportunity for choir members to explore their voices in a masterclass, with one-to-one time.

    Future Plans

The following plans have been announced:
  • Jonathan Baker has created a new men's choir - The Vital Spark - who gave a short lunchtime public performance on Saturday 15 February 2019.
  • Siân Croose is running Women's Voices workshops in Norwich and Brighton in January, February and March 2019.
  • The combined Norwich and Brighton choir will be joining together to record many of the songs performed in recent years.