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The four self-named ‘local suppliers of a cappella in Carinthia’ have decided to take the chance of crossing the Pack mountains in order to present their skills at vokal.total for the first time. With delicacies from all branches of music, spiced with a handful of humour the four vocal bon vivants serve a delightful multicourse lunch with an a cappella buffet, prepared with love and passion. Let them coddle you with their musical delights and remember: There‘s no need to worry about weight gains - enjoy the presented sweets without remorse!
BIT (Slovenia) - jazzInspired by the ‘Sredi zvezd’ festival for vocal music, five music teachers founded the BIT Vocal Group in 2003 and right away managed to win at this festival in the three consecutive years. Despite of laying the focus on Jazz and Pop, they also include works of the golden Slovenian era and music of the 60s in their repertoire.
This highly unconventional quintet from London doesn’t just settle for the typical vocal literature, the five young women rather draw their influence from hip hop, drum’n’bass and soul. No less a figure than the reigning beatboxing world champion Bellatrix provides the rhythmic foundation as the others sway in dreamy, sundrenched melodies and harmonics. The Boxettes are by now well used to the expressions of disbelief in audience faces when surprised by their extended vocal techniques – we are all looking forward to this moment! Sunny California is not just renowned for its excellent wines but also for its musicians. A choice vintage in this sense are the Cuesta Chamber Singers from the colleges of the same name. The ensemble, formed in 1997, has since been touring the American west and has always succeeded in delighting the audience with a great variety of traditional and contemporary choral works. Like the Cuesta Chamber Singers, this ensemble also stems from the talent pool of the Cuesta Colleges in California. Voce sets focus on jazz only and has succeeded at prestigious addresses such as the Montreux Jazz Festival or the Reno Jazz Festival. According to the charming octet they draw inspiration from the Real Group, the Swingle Singers or Manhattan Transfer – but above all are influenced by ‘a little of everything’.‘A cappella miniatures’ could be the title of the creations of this two-person marvel. A school friendship started to develop into a musical symbiosis that is more than hard to resist for the masses. The two right-handed guys cause quite a stir with their colourful repertoire consisting of their ’favourite songs’ and have come from faraway Berlin to fascinate little Graz with their vocal skills.
HiFive (Netherlands) - jazz, popA further exclamation mark in the career of the five young Dutch(wo)men from Groningen is to come! Last year they returned highly decorated from the Dutch festival for vocal ensembles, where they didn’t only win the first prize in their category, but also came out the overall winners of the competition. Today they have a new goal: The A Cappella Competition in Graz. As a special treat the quintet brings along new arrangements penned especially for vokal.total – we are excited! The versatile terzet from the Cologne artist community has been pampering their audience for more than ten years now – at all kinds of events, be it as an a cappella ensemble or in a complete band line-up. The three music graduates have the gift to deal with every piece of music from most diverse eras in a humorous, but stylistically confident way - hence their unique, delicate interpretations.
The Jazz & Gospel Community, a five-person ensemble from wonderful Florence feels at home in many areas of music. Interpreting classical literature as well as 20th century music – with a special focus on jazz literature – is near and dear to the quintet. After their successful debut at vokal.total.2008 we are more than happy to welcome this ensemble in Graz again. ‘Five singers enter the stage and immediately create harmony. It may sound corny … but it is pure pleasure.’ Thus the jury did homage to Juicy Blue, after awarding the prize for performing arts of Interkulturelle Bühne (intercultural stage) Frankfurt. Although the ensemble only competes in the jazz category this year, they feel equally at home in pop and R&B. Surely they would create enthusiasm in every category!
Latvia is commonly known as the people with the probably greatest love of singing in Europe, if not the world. But the attractive gift-wrap of this Latvian virtue in the form of Latvian Voices exceeds all expectations! The seven charming young ladies from Riga fascinate their audience not only with their clear voices but also with funny shows on stage. They never restrict themselves to a single musical style or era, but proudly present their continuously growing repertoire of songs from Gregorian chants to pop hits. The motto: Italopop and more! Presented by the six charming protagonists of Maybe6ix, the show promises more than just memories of summer, sun and occupied deck chairs. The home-made arrangements of the sextet are packed with Italian pop culture penned by e.g. Bersani, Pino Daniele or Silvestri paired with songs by Police, Lenny Kravitz or Michael Jackson. The combination yields finest pop music - accompanied by a gentle southerly breeze.
Maytree (Korea) - jazz, popWhether MayTree is related to the scaling of maypoles is still unclear - but for sure the five ambitious Koreans with their colourful mix of local and international pop and jazz have been assigned their spot in the treetops of the evergreen a cappella woods. On its way to the top of the a cappella world the group has performed as supporting act for the Real Group or produced several commercial videos for well-known international corporate groups – just as a footnote. Leona Lewis, Rihanna or Jason Mraz - whoever mentions names like these in the same vein as his own will definitely have to deal with quite high expectations. But this seems to be exactly what the six members of MICapella aim to do. Their powerful arrangements und highly detailed live shows have enthused audiences at numerous major events. Massive beats and silky soft melodies make this consummate pop ensemble a unique experience.
As reigning champions of the Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Competition 2010 the seven ladies and gentlemen of the Moment Singers have been invited to Graz to continue the long lasting partnership between vokal.total and the Taiwan Choral Music Center. Formed only in spring 2010, the septet that devotes itself entirely to jazz, could reap two major a cappella prizes within the following six months. Such an outstanding jump in the group‘s career lets us expect another overwhelming show in the Dom im Berg. muSix (Germany) - pop
A cappella meets ’Ostrock‘ (N.B.: rock music from the GDR). This is the title of muSix‘ latest album. The five friends from Berlin have already successfully proved their skills at vokal.total.2009 in all categories. This year, though, the band focus all their energy - and yes, they definitely have unbelievable amounts of energy - on snatching the crown of the pop winner. By interpreting ’Ostrock‘ hits, discovered and excavated from the LP shelves of their parents, the ensemble has placed itself on virgin a cappella soil. And because of the absence of active ’Ostrockers‘ the group feeds this soundscape with fresh input. Singing to be heard - by as many people as possible. This is the engine that pushes the five guys of Non Stop Vokal ahead. The necessary fuel stems from the countless self-made arrangements of music from all around the world. Additional thrust has been obtained by the successful participation in the Hungarian version of the talent show ’X Factor’ where the band managed to get to the final round in best boy group style. Octavians (Germany) - classical
Like many other vocal addicts the Octavians have been infected by the singing virus in their early childhood days. As members of the Jena Boys‘ Choir they have learned to use their voices from scratch. The octet has toured Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland and their repertoire includes sacral as well as romantic and humorous secular music from more than 500 years of music history. In March 2010 they won the German federal competition ‘Jugend musiziert’ and equally convinced audience and judges with a ‘perfect mixture of rejoicing in singing and quality’. Traditional, unconventional. This is the motto of the four voice talents from the Styrian region Murau. While the four initially performed in traditional Styrian lederhosen when singing local treasury of songs they have now advanced to totally different musical areas. The pop and schlager repertoire of the quartet, continuously refined over the years since 2005, has earned the ensemble several concert tours (to Italy or Canada) and invitations to international festivals such as ‘Voice Mania’. Over the years they have become firmly established in the Austrian a cappella world and still continue to work: Always in search of the ultimate a cappella sound. The three guys and two girls of Rave Vocal Band are all professional musicians but have day jobs outside the music industry to pay the bills. This doesn’t detract from their professionalism – it enhances it. The ensemble was born in the current formation in November 2010. Since then, things have grown fast. “Ice Queen”, “Brazen Weep”. The group doesn’t shy away from hard, driving and edgy rock. On the other hand, Rave knows when to be subtle and sensitive. Their musicality and the golden combination of personalities also allows them to interpret the jazz greats like "The Night We Called It A Day" and "We'll Always Have The Moon". Approximately two years ago, four men and women with a strong background of classical music and jazz founded the Singer Street ensemble. Influenced by giants of a cappella music like Take Six, Swingle Singers, Real Group and New York Voices, the group developed their very own style through their self-made arrangements. Though Singer Street has plenty of experience in performing without instrumental aid, sometimes they are ‘led astray’ and can be caught out making music with jazz bands. Self-evidently, in our house we are going to hear their voices at maximum purity.
Seven outstanding musicians are hidden behind the promising name Sonic Suite. They have met to do what their common passion is: raising their voices together. One could say, their musical output is the sonification of their enthusiasm and reaches beyond old a cappella patterns. All singers - including Indra Tedjasukmana, who is one of the world‘s best beatboxers, show outstanding vocal skills but also a high amount of naturalness and authenticity which makes their subtle mix of pop, R&B and jazz a very special occasion.
Vocalica (Latvia) - classicalComing from a tiny village in Latvia, a country that is internationally renowned for its rich vocal tradition, the two male and two female singers of Vocalica regard music as nothing less than their purpose in life. Specialized in music from the medieval times and the renaissance, the group gathered several prizes e.g. the first prize of the national competition for vocal ensembles. Therefore they may rightfully call themselves ‘state champion of ensemble singing’.
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