Festival 500: ''Sharing the Voices'' was an international biennial non-competitive

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

held in

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

Festival 500 began in 1997 as part of the Cabot 500 celebrations, a series of events commemorating the 500th anniversary of

John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North ...

's arrival in Bonavista, Newfoundland in 1497. The inaugural festival was planned to coincide with the anniversary visit of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, who attended the gala opening concert in June 1997. The festival invited choirs from all around the world (33 countries in 2009), who would have to send audition tapes and subsequently be invited to attend. During the day, the choirs would attend workshops, clinics and masterclasses, as well as perform for free at places across the city, including the airport, hotel lobbies and churches. ''Concerts in the Afternoon'' and ''The World of Music'' concert series were both concerts open to the public, during which up to four choirs perform individually, then combine at the end for two to three pieces led by one of the invited conductors. The festival concluded with the ''Grande Finale'', a massive concert held at

Mile One Centre Mary Brown's Centre (formerly Mile One Centre) is an indoor arena and entertainment venue located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The arena opened in May 2001, replacing Memorial Stadium. At full capacity the arena can ...

. During the concert, there were two massed-choir projects, one involving all youth choirs and the other with the adult choirs. Both are led by one of the two invited conductors and are accompanied by the

Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra is a prominent orchestra from the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. History Though evidence suggests that an orchestra may have existed in St. John’s as early as 1850, the St. John’s Sym ...

. The final act of the finale was the Guest Artist, usually one of the main local draws to the festival. Since 1997, there have been more than 10,000 participants from 38 countries, 22 U.S. States and 11 Canadian Provinces / Territories. The last festival of this form was held in 2013. Since 2014, ''Festival 500: Sharing the Voices'' has now become ''Growing the Voices: Festival 500'', and focuses on giving people the opportunity to sing around the world.

Symposium

In 1999, the festival introduced ''The Phenomenon of Singing'', a week-long academic symposium as a prelude to the choral festival. The symposium was designed to address a variety of aspects of singing and the human voice including artistic, physiological, cultural, sociological, historical, pedagogical, psychological, creative/compositional.

2011

The 2011 Symposium differed from previous years because it overlapped the festival, starting on July 10 rather than after the festival had finished.

Past guest artists

Club for Five Club for Five (CFF) is a contemporary a cappella group from Finland. They are known for their unique singing style. Club for Five was founded in Helsinki in 2001. The members of the band are musicians with diverse and extensive musical backgroun ...

(2009) *

Anúna Anúna (stylized in all caps) is a vocal ensemble formed in Ireland in 1987 by Irish composer Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne. Taking the current name in 1991,Allmusic Biography/ref> the group has recorded 18 albums and achieved a ...

(2007) *

Rajaton Rajaton is a Finnish a cappella ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word ''rajaton'' means "boundless", to indicate the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred classical to near Europop. Rajaton performs primarily in Finland but ...

(2001, 2003, 2005) *

The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...

(1997) *

Witloof Bay Witloof Bay is a Belgian a cappella group. Biography In 2005 six friends who all shared a love of jazz, pop, a cappella and beatbox decided to perform as a group. They took their inspiration from The Real Group, Take 6, The Swingle Singers ...

(2013)

Past invited conductors

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

(2003) *

Bob Chilcott Robert "Bob" Chilcott (born 9 April 1955) is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxfordshire, England. He was a member of the King's Singers from 1985 to 1997, singing tenor. He has been a composer since 1997. Earl ...

(1997, 1999, 2001, 2013) * Francisco Nunez (2013) *

Bramwell Tovey Bramwell Tovey (11 July 1953 – 12 July 2022) was a British conductor and composer. Life and career Tovey was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as ...

(1997, 1999)

Corner Brook

The City of

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

on the West Coast of the Island was also the host of a biannual Festival 500, smaller than that in St. John's. It usually consisted of two concerts, one featuring individual groups, and the other featuring the two massed choirs (Children's Massed Choir & Adult Massed Choir).

2011

In 2011 the festival was scheduled from July 6 to July 13. One of the scheduled featured performers was the Finnish group

Past guest artists

Linda Tillery Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

and The Cultural Heritage Choir (2009) * AC Rock (2007) * Madrigia (2005) *

(2003)

Past invited conductors

* Ki Adams (2007, 2011) * Dr. Susan Knight (2005) * Dr. Valerie Long (2003)

References

External links

Festival 500
Official website
Promotional video
from

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{Choral festivals 1997 establishments in Canada Music festivals in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Classical music festivals in Canada Choral festivals Music festivals established in 1997