VOCES8 International Summer School and Festival 2022
Thank you to everyone who came to Milton Abbey in July and made it such a memorable week!
Next year’s Summer School will take place from 31 July-5 August 2023.
Applications will open as follows:
August 15-31: Participants in the 2022 Summer School
September 1-October 1: Friends of the VOCES8 Foundation
October 1 onwards: General public
There will be an Early Bird discount for residential participants who apply before October 1st 2022.
VOCES8 is delighted to host its annual Summer School and Festival at Milton Abbey School. Participants in the Summer School work with VOCES8 throughout the week to rehearse and perform the closing concert of the Festival. The Summer School focusses on major works with orchestra, and the opportunity to work in smaller chamber ensembles which are directed by members of VOCES8. Summer School participants enjoy free entry to the concerts that take place each evening in the Abbey, featuring renowned international artists.
Our featured large work for the 2022 Summer School will be the Great Mass in C Minor by W.A. Mozart, K.427, which will be performed alongside shorter works by Ralph Vaughan Williams to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth, which falls this year.
Update, February 2022: The Summer School is now fully booked.
Prospective participants can join the waiting list for the Summer School:
The 2021 Summer School participants and staff
Course Experiences Include
Engaging with specialist choral techniques in bespoke masterclass sessions with VOCES8
Rehearsing and performing Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor K.427 for a gala performance on the final Saturday
Working in chamber groups to present a madrigal, part song, pop and jazz a cappella concert
Tickets to all Festival concerts, including performances by VOCES8 and Apollo5.
All sessions on the course will be led by VOCES8. Repertoire will be a diverse selection from the European choral heritage alongside jazz and pop a cappella.
Booking details
Resident in the School £810: FULLY BOOKED
Non-Resident £575: FULLY BOOKED
Children’s Course £500 (including pastoral care): FULLY BOOKED
The course fee includes all board and lodging (3 meals per day), all course materials and tutoring fees, and full use of the school’s facilities for recreation. All resident accommodation is in school boarding house facilities, mostly with shared bathrooms. Travel costs are not included.
A £100 non-refundable deposit to secure your place is payable on booking. The full balance becomes due on 1 May 2022.
To enquire about booking a place, please email the Administrator, Anne Smith: summerschool@voces8.foundation
Participant Information
Joining instructions were sent to all participants by email in early June, and can also be downloaded below.
Please check back for more information about repertoire, which will be uploaded as it becomes available.
The repertoire for the Gala Concert is:
Hebrides Overture - Felix Mendelssohn
Great Mass in C minor - W.A. Mozart (Peters Edition, ed. Beyer) - you can download a free, public domain edition to use to practice before the course
Antiphon (from Five Mystical Songs) - Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ave Verum Corpus - W.A. Mozart
Chamber Group Repertoire
Participants will receive Chamber Group allocations via email. Chamber Groups are flexible and it is possible to move to a different group. However, please don’t email us if something is wrong - we will make necessary adjustments when we arrive at Milton Abbey.
Repertoire for each group is listed below, and if we are able to provide a downloadable copy in advance, the titles will appear as links - just click to download.
Andrea’s Group (SSAA)
Crucifixus - A. Gabrieli
O swallow, swallow - Holst
Light of a clear blue morning - Dolly Parton
Oj Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon - trad. Ukrainian.
Euan’s Group (SAB)
O fly not, love - Thomas Morley
O what shall I do? - John Wilbye
Justus es Domine - Orlando Di Lasso
Donna, da vostri sguardi - Luca Marenzio
Katie’s Group (SATB)
Il est bel et bon - Passereau
Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes? - Nunes Garcia
The Shower - Elgar
Chris’s Group (SATB)
The Nymphs and Shepherds Danced - George Marson
Ubi Caritas - Maurice Duruflé
Rise up, my love - Healey Willan
Blake’s Group (Jazz & Pop) - to follow
Creative - to be created from scratch by you, the participants!
Ceilidh on Wednesday
Wednesday afternoon is set aside as free time for participants to enjoy the facilities at Milton Abbey and explore the area or take part in Neil Valentine’s famous Ceilidh! This will take place on the lawn, if the weather is fine, or in the sports hall if not. Please bring your instrument to join the band, should you choose to, or enjoy the dancing. The Ceilidh Pad can be downloaded below, and there will be a short informal rehearsal beforehand.
VOCES8 Summer School 2021 - A Report
One of the Trustees of the VOCES8 Foundation, Sally Cantello, visited the VOCES8 Summer School in July 2021 and wrote about her days at Milton Abbey:
“The VOCES8 Summer School at Milton Abbey brings together people of all ages and backgrounds in a week-long collaborative programme of study and performance in the stunning setting of Milton Abbey school in the wilds of the Dorset countryside.
The week gives participants of all levels of singing ability the opportunity to work in chamber ensembles directed by members of VOCES8 to present a madrigal, part song and jazz a cappella performance and also to sing major works with an orchestra in a concluding concert. Participants get free entry to the concerts that take place every evening in the Abbey featuring renowned artists.
Normally the school hosts an international contingent but, due to the effects of the pandemic, the 2021 cohort was smaller than usual and almost completely UK based. They came to the school, however, with added eagerness after nearly 18 months of singing almost solely on Zoom or at best into a microphone and camera. There was a palpable energy in the air as amateurs and professionals alike prepared to sing alongside others – and to an audience – for the first time in what, to some, has felt like an eternity.
The experience of singing alongside budding stars (the Scholars) and learning from the professionals and experts (VOCES8, Apollo5) can’t be equalled in the eyes of many of the attendees – which is why so many of them return year after year.
For me as a Trustee to participate in the school was not only great fun but also a lesson in the impact that we as the VOCES8 Foundation can have on people’s lives.
Meals are provided and are taken together in the 15th-century Abbot’s Hall. Over lunch on the second day Paul Smith, CEO of the Foundation, and I listened to two women who had both come to the school to re-boot their lives after the trauma of recent widowhood. One was an amateur cellist and singer who felt that the joy of singing as an ensemble would not only help to heal the wounds of losing her husband of 60 years but help her get through the coming Thursday – which would have been the day of her Diamond wedding anniversary. Nothing in her demeanour would have suggested that she was going through grief – enjoying the warm-up exercises, questioning the tutors, performing with gusto, as she immersed herself completely in the joy of singing with others.
The other woman, a singing novice, had decided that a way of dealing with her recent bereavement was to learn a new skill. She had joined a local choir but, frustrated with the lack of aspiration of some of the members, thought that joining the summer school would help her develop the singing skills she desired while giving her a way of facing the future without her husband.
Those of us sitting listening at the table recognised the faith that these two had put in the power of music to act as medicine to life’s ills and were thrilled by the fact that they had chosen the Milton Abbey Summer School as the place to come to tap into that healing joy of singing and making music together.
Later that evening, course participants and guests attended a stunning concert with VOCES8 performing many of their old favourites to celebrate singing in front of a live audience again. Many listeners were moved to tears as the music once again tapped into emotions that had largely lain dormant (or been kept in check) since the beginning of Covid. In the bar post-concert, with the excitement of the music still alive, I had a long conversation with a couple who come every year to the school. Following mid-life crises in their careers and lives, they had come to the realisation that music – and singing in particular – were more important than many of the other things they had previously held dear. For them this week in Milton Abbey embodied all that they had realised were important and life-enhancing – singing, collaboration, learning, companionship, new friends, relaxation – and was the most enjoyable week of their year.
Milton Abbey, with its bucolic setting, poor phone signal and dubious Wifi connections certainly helps participants to get away from phones and other distractions and immerse themselves in the week of rehearsals, lessons, chamber groups and concerts. For many this makes the week a truly meaningful – and sometimes life-changing – experience.
I learnt so much and got such enjoyment out of only two days at the school, meeting new people and hearing interesting and uplifting stories, that I would recommend it to singers of all levels. There’s something in it for everyone – and it might just change your life!”