Sense of Sound's a cappella Voices Festival

City choir Sense of Sound has announced the brand new Voices Festival, a three day celebration of a cappella singing, set to take place at Liverpool’s Bluecoat and Black-E arts centres in March. From hip hop to barbershop and contemporary jazz to choral, the Voices Festival will showcase the full (vocal) range of a cappella singing styles, giving plenty of opportunity for everyone to interact, get involved and get singing. Liverpool is no stranger to the work of Sense of Sound, is one of the most unique and inspirational companies in the UK today. Led by four female directors:Jennifer John, Saphena Aziz, Juliet Russell and Perri Alleyne-Hughes, the organisation aims to create and produce amazing ways to celebrate singing -- and the Voices Festival is set to be no exception. On Friday March 16, Sense of Sound will open the festival with a National Conference for Singing and Health. Perfect for health educators and researchers, speech therapists, vocal coaches, singers and anyone with an interest in singing or health, the conference will feature presentations from leading speech therapists and vocal training experts. Saphena Aziz  explains: ‘’A great number of discoveries have occurred in the past few years, showing that singing has a fantastic, positive effect on health. This conference will allow practitioners to come together to share ideas, allowing us all to learn and keep this exciting field of health and wellbeing moving forward." The Sense of Sound Singers and special guest star Connie Lush will pay homage to Joni Mitchell with an a cappella concert at the Black-E on the evening of Friday March 16, with support from acclaimed group Barbieshop. On Saturday March 17, Choirs from around the region will have the chance to perform in the Bluecoat Hub. Members of the public are able to come along, enjoy the music and take part. More details on how choirs can get involved in this will be announced shortly. Beatboxer Shlomo, the Southbank Centre Artist in Residence, is set to play The Black-E on the evening of March 17 too. He has worked with Björk, Martha Wainwright, Damon Albarn and Jarvis Cocker to name a few. A free day of family fun will take place at the Bluecoat on Sunday, March 18 with interactive activities for all ages taking place throughout the day,  including workshops with an a cappella twist. The festival will end with a massive ‘Big Sing’, which will take place in the Bluecoat Hub. More information can be found at www.senseofsound.net.