On Saturday, Feb. 26, one of the biggest names in a cappella singing will make their first appearance in Fort Wayne. 

British group Voces8 is performing at Trinity English Lutheran Church.

Coming from the tradition of the King’s Singers (who performed at Purdue University Fort Wayne on Feb. 12) Voces8 are an eight-voice group (hence the name) of women and men who sing 450 years of music in one concert, from the Renaissance to Nat King Cole and Ben Folds, through points in between, in many languages, all with nothing but the human voice.

Capacity is 600, and it’s expected to sell out, so check trinityenglish.org/voces8 to see if any tickets are left.

Collaborative sound

In preparation for the show, I spoke by Zoom with the group’s founder, Barnaby Smith.

“Vocal music has always been at the center of culture for many centuries,” he said. “Groups like ours are founded out of church music, and we’ve had polyphony and choral music in church for over 500 years. That sort of gives its naissance, as you like, and is a very natural place for us to start.

“And I think within Voces8, the interests of the group are so many and varied with our eight members. Everybody has a slightly different specialism, and that leads us to a very broad range of repertoire.

“I think if you asked anybody in the group what the thing they enjoy most about the job is, it’s probably the variety of music that we sing.”

Smith produces the group’s videos and albums, and as a self-described techie, he’s really excited about visiting Sweetwater and checking out all the audio gear. 

But absolutely none of that will be involved at Trinity English Lutheran. They will sing completely acoustically — no microphones, amplifiers, or backing tracks, and no lighting rig or video projection, either.

“I have no problem with miked a cappella, but I don’t think it’s really a cappella,” Smith said. “I actually think that the microphones, essentially, are instruments. It’s just a different art form, isn’t it? With all the effects. But yeah, we’re going to go down the purist’s end.”

Singing acoustically and projecting those voices so the whole audience can hear them is something audiences don’t often encounter in this era. Smith says it’s essential to this group’s sound: “The magic of what we do is that it’s human-to-human interaction.

“Everyone thinks the most important thing is to be a great singer, to be in a group like this,” he said. “I would say that’s kind of a starting point, but the biggest skill is having just a natural desire to offer all of yourself to something greater. 

“When you’re a solo singer, you have to be so much focused on yourself. In Voces8, it’s all about a collaboration.”

Online success

Smith sings countertenor. He’s actually got a deep bass voice, but trained it to the falsetto register, not unlike what you hear with the Bee Gees, or Prince, or even some metal singers. Countertenors have been essential to choirs in the Church of England for centuries.

In Voces8, he’s blending that rich, sonorous high voice with sopranos Andrea Haines and Eleonora Poignant, alto Katie Jeffries-Harris, tenors Blake Morgan and Euan Williamson, baritone Chris Moore, and bass Dominic Carver.

Twenty years on, Voces8 have 14 studio albums, mostly a cappella but also with numerous collaborations with instrumental groups and composers. Notably, they sing the opening track on Grammy winner Jacob Collier’s album Djesse, Vol. 1 from 2018.

“As a commercial entity, Voces8 is very profitable, I’m pleased to say,” Smith said. “We do about 120 concerts a year. And for everybody in the group, it’s a full-time job.

“I think a lot of the success actually comes down to understanding how people consume music and what we as an artist can bring to an audience.

“The reason that we make our money out of concerts is actually because we’ve developed our online following. There’s a lot of noise about the streaming services and about how they’re ruining musicians’ lives by not paying any money. I actually view it the other way round and say the streaming services are our best friend.

“How many subscribers are there on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and how many of those would likely have walked into a record store 30 years ago? The market now is huge.”

“But I actually think the biggest part of our success has probably been our YouTube channel. Our subscribers there are the people who come to our concerts.

“Probably 90 to 95 percent of our shows are sold out and people can’t get tickets. And that’s all driven by (our presence) online.”

Separate from the performing group, Voces8 operate a nonprofit music education foundation based in the U.K. 

Here in the U.S. they’re equipping “hub city” programs in 11 locations, staffed year-round by teachers and affiliated vocal groups. Smith cited Detroit as an example. 

You can learn more on their website: voces8.foundation.

Partnering with audience

While I researched this article, I spoke with Robert Hobby, director of music at Trinity English Lutheran Church for 28 years and a composer who has published more than 250 choral works. 

He told me about the church’s history of introducing choirs and vocal groups from the U.S. and around the world to the Fort Wayne audience. In his time that’s included the King’s Singers, Chanticleer, Conspirari, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, and more.

The Voces8 show features a group for the 21st century. 

“It’s our job as artists to enrich society,” Smith said. 

“And I sometimes think that a mistake that artists can make is that they believe that’s a one-sided thing. They believe they should be offering society what they believe art is. Whereas I think we very much are involved in a conversation with our audiences, whether that’s in a concert hall or whether that’s on the internet, trying to understand what we can offer people that they will want.

“What we’re all about is collaboration and partnership. That’s really the fundamental pillar of what we do. Which of course then in turn means that we’re working with multi genres of music and living and learning every day. And that’s the most exciting thing about it.

“I hope that the organizations within the arts do follow this collaborative path.

“I think a little bit of flexibility and collaboration in that area will hopefully lead to a lasting future for us all.”