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London Vocal Project and The Swingle Singers at LACF 2012

Christopher Sutton — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:09:30 +0000

This is one of a number of posts on the London A Cappella Festival 2012. You can also read more about Saturday’s events and several other posts about the festival! After some interesting workshops in the morning, a fun barbershop concert, a fascinating discussion on music education and panel session, Saturday finished the festival strong [...]

LACF Panel: The Global A Cappella Community

Christopher Sutton — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:37:22 +0000

This is one of a number of posts on the London A Cappella Festival 2012. You can also read more about Saturday’s events and several other posts about the festival! It would be a great pity to have so many top a cappella groups, and industry movers-and-shakers in one place and not sit them down [...]

Improv, Crossfire, Cottontown Chorus & The Refrains at LACF2012

Christopher Sutton — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:18:30 +0000

After two stellar nights at the London A Cappella Festival (Thursday, Friday), I was excited to get stuck into the jam-packed Saturday agenda: three full concerts, plenty more foyer performances, an improvisation workshop, a panel talk and a music education discussion group. Improvisation Workshop I started the day by attending one of the three vocal [...]

Cadence and FORK at LACF 2012

Christopher Sutton — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:15:20 +0000

Another amazing night at the London A Cappella Festival. I’m trying hard to avoid these posts just being whole-hearted enthusiasm, but the music is just so good – and let’s face it, there are plenty of professional music critics who can cast a negative light. Let them. I’m having a fantastic time! Tonight’s line-up was [...]

The Vasari Singers and The Boxettes at LACF 2012

Christopher Sutton — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:18:29 +0000

Last night was the first night of the London A Cappella Festival 2012, and it certainly got off to a tremendous start. The evening began with foyer performances by several choirs from the “Music In Offices” initiative, including from the BBC and Channel 4. They sang from the balcony above the concert hall foyer downstairs, [...]

How to teach music… in perfect harmony

Christopher Sutton — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:04:52 +0000

Discussion group“How to teach music… in perfect harmony”at the London A Cappella Festival 201214:50-15:30 in The Wenlock RoomSaturday 14th January, Kings Place, London The last few years have seen a sharp increase in people’s interest in singing. From X-Factor and Pop Idol, to SingStar and Rock Band, to High School Musical and Glee, it’s clear [...]

Marc Sings For You. Why doesn’t everyone?

Christopher Sutton — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:01:54 +0000

I recently wrote something about the future of classical music, and asked whether classical artists like James Rhodes and Thomas Hewitt Jones were leading the way by using social media to break down the stigma which normally goes along with classical music. This time I want to look at another example of an artist – [...]

The spaces between the notes

Christopher Sutton — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:00:27 +0000

There’s no such thing as not playing. Music has rests in it. So, you’re on a rest and the music will begin shortly. Tom Waits, Fresh Air interview on NPR If you’re interested in musicianship, aural skills, and ear training, most of the practice you do probably revolves around listening to sounds. Whether you use [...]

A New Life for Music in the Church (Part Four): Taizé

Christopher Sutton — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:11:15 +0000

This is part four in a series of posts on music in the Catholic Church. Previously: Part one, part two and part three. One big discovery for me during the World Youth Day trip was the music of Taizé – a Christian community in the East of France, where they have cultivated a distinctive style [...]

A New Life for Music in the Church (Part Three)

Christopher Sutton — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:07:49 +0000

This is part three in a series of posts on music in the Catholic Church. Part one covered my background and experience of Church music growing up and part two looked at the modern “happy clappy” style of church music. Last time I was fairly critical of the upbeat poppy style of church music which [...]