About The Festival and Venue
Celebrate Voice is a highly regarded music festival that has been running for 6 years in Salisbury. The festival aims are to bring together leading international singers and the local community, celebrating a diverse range of musical genres suitable for a variety of ages.
Previously, the festival has been spread across multiple venues, but this year it was all under one roof. Celebrate Voice was held in The Wilsons Piccolo Theatre – a 200 seat pop up theatre. This was the theatre’s debut appearance in England having only ever appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Celebrate Jazz – The Joe Stillgoe Trio and Janie Dee
The opening act of the festival was the amazingly talented Joe Stillgoe Trio. Joe Stillgoe is an internationally acclaimed singer, pianist and songwriter performing in venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, the Edinburgh Fringe festival and Birdland in New York. He has released 5 critically acclaimed albums, three having topped the UK Jazz Charts.
Janie Dee is a British actress, musical theatre performer and singer, having won one of the most prestigious awards in British Theatre – an Olivier for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.
Celebrate Cabaret – Caroline Nin and Miss Hope Springs
Caroline Nin put on a breath-taking performance of her interpretation of one of France’s greatest musical icons – Edith Piaf. She spends her time performing her residency in Paris’ most famous cabaret venue Le Lido and in London. Caroline Nin’s has been awarded as the Best Female Jazz Vocalist Award in France.
Ty Jeffries learnt his trade at The Purcell School of Music in London studying piano, violin and composition. In 2010, he created his alter-ego, Miss Hope Springs, an ex-vegas showgirl. His performance at the Edinburgh Fringe led him to win the Broadway World Best Cabaret Award 2019.
Celebrate A Cappella – The Navy Larks
Celebrate Voice also likes to promote and celebrate local as well as international talent. The first local act to perform in the theatre was the fantastic Navy Larks, directed by Kate Edgar.
The Navy Larks sing sea shanties and some of their own compositions, having performed at the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival. Kate Edgar (the musical director) is an award winning composer, director and teacher, leading multiple local groups.
Celebrate Opera – The Marriage of Figaro
Throughout the week, there were multiple performances of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”. With a cast of 10 of the most highly regarded opera singers, this was really a spectacular show. Every member of the cast has performed in some of the most prestigious venues such as The Royal Opera House, Grange Park Opera and with the London Symphony Orchestra.
The musical director was Phillip Thomas who also accompanied the opera on the piano. He was for many years the official accompanist at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. The director was the incredibly talented Richard Studer who has and is working with Dennis O’Neil’s Wales International Academy of Voice and West Green House Opera.
Celebrate Local (Series 2) – Louise Jordan
The second local act of the week was the brilliant Louise Jordan who is a Salisbury based singer-songwriter. For the past 10 years, she has been gaining experience touring around the UK and Europe sharing her music and hidden stories of women’s histores through song. She has gained raido play on national stations such as BBC Radio 2 Folk Show and BBC Radio 4.
Celebrate Folk – Antoine and Owena, and Lucid
Antione and Owena are a folk duo based around Salisbury playing original music that is inspired by traditional and contemporary folk music.
Lucid are a band based on the Isle of Wight playing original music and some covers. They have a distinctive Folk Rock sound that is unlike any other, consisting of a line up with violin, bass, guitar and keys. Their songs are melodic, catchy and contain close harmonies, exploring the problems of being human in a poetic and thoughtful way.
Celebrate Strozzi – Maniera
Maniera is a group of three highly talented musicians who showed the diversity of the festival and shared the music of Barbara Strozzi.
Strozzi was credited with inventing the cantata from and composed stories that illustrate emotions in the beautiful flowing, melismatic music.
Celebrate Comedy – Dave Johns, Andy Askins, The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue
Celebrate Voice put on a comedy evening this year for the first time in the festival’s history. Dave Johns was the MC for the evening and is one of the most respected comedians on the British Comedy Circuit. He has made appearances on popular TV shows such as Never Mind The Buzzcocks and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He also played the leading role in Ken Loach’s feature film “I, Daniel Blake” which he was awarded a BIFA for Best Actor in 2016.
Andy Askins has performed with Michael McIntyre, Lee Evans, Alan Carr alongside many others and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue had an amazingly slick and witty show and have performed at venues from the Falklands to Ashby De La Zouch.
Celebrate Local – Cam and Nicole
Cam & Nicole are an established musical duo from Salisbury that regularly gig around the local area. They play a variety of covers that involve and acoustic guitar and close harmonies. They have a brilliant energy on stage which is infectious, delivering a great show every time.
Celebrate Family Sing-Along – Mrs H and the Sing-Along Band
Mrs H and the sing-along band were the perfect entertainment for all ages. The variety of props to accompany their music really complimented their performance and encouraged everyone to get involved. Their line-up included a range of instruments such as guitar, banjo, accordion, double bass, piano, harmonica, kazoo and vocals.
Celebrate Jazz – Georgia Mancio Quartet
The finale of the festival was performed by the Georgia Mancio Quartet (Georgia Mancio (Vocals), Kate Williams (Piano), Oli Hayhurst (Bass), Dave Ohm (Drummer)). Georgia is an award winning vocalist jazz vocalist/lyricist. Following her album with Grammy award winning pianist/composer Alan Broadbent, Georgia released her 7th album this year “Finding Home”. Georgia has sold out shows at Ronnie Scotts and performed as a soloist and in the choir at the BBC Proms.
The Marriage of Figaro Cast
Figaro
Susanna
Count
Countess
Cherubino
Basilio
Marcellina
Bartolo
Antonio
Barbarina
Music Director
Director
Bethany Woolgrove
Phillip Thomas
Many thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors who made the festival possible and to Lynsey Docherty the organiser. It was a brilliant event to have in Salisbury and was an absolute pleasure to be on the sound, lighting and stage management team.