A Cappella Spectacular

Adelaide Vocal Union is a four-part, men's acapella chorus from South Australia.

Formed in 2015, the group has strong ties with Barbershop Harmony Australia and often competes in both the Regional and National Barbershop contests across the country.

Bringing together voices of all ages and walks of life, the boys rehearse every Thursday night and always finish off at the nearest pub.

Under the direction of Cam DuRieu, Adelaide Vocal Union has found its pace again post Covid19 and are looking forward to bringing their brand of Barbershop to the festival.

The Bayside Divas is an acclaimed women’s choir that was established in 2004 in the Brisbane sea-side suburb of Sandgate. Under the motto “in voice, we rejoice”, its members are committed to making beautiful music and to providing an opportunity for women of all backgrounds to participate in the joy of singing and performing.

The choir incorporates a wide variety of musical styles in their repertoire, including evergreens, recent hits, popular classics, jazz standards, gospel, music theatre, folk and multicultural world music. Exuding a sense of joy and vitality in all that they do, and with their concerts often enhanced through the addition of choreography, the Divas continue to inspire and enrich the lives of their audiences through their concerts, recordings and appearances at community events.

Since January 2007 the choir has been under the direction of renowned composer and conductor, Sandra Milliken. Sandra has had a long involvement in the Australian choral music scene; has studied, conducted and adjudicated overseas; and has established a world-wide reputation through the international publication of an extensive list of choral music compositions and arrangements.

Image credit: Murray Milliken

More than just a choir, the Brunswick Women’s Choir is a collective of 40 women who are passionate about social justice and believe music has the power to unite, inspire and foster change.

They embrace their power as a stronger voice together and sing gutsy songs with passion and poignancy - and have been doing so for more than 30 years. Their songs tell stories that inspire audiences and bring people together.

Brunswick Women’s Choir sing for equality, sing for women and sing to make a difference.

Deep South is Hobart's premier men's close harmony a cappella chorus. Led by talented Musical Director Kieran Slicer, the chorus is made up of male singers of all ages and from all walks of life, who share a common goal of musical development, camaraderie and a passion for rich harmony. A regular competitor at National Barbershop Championships since 2007, Deep South has performed credibly and established a respected position amongst Australia's barbershop community. Their repertoire includes a variety of songs in four-part harmony, arranged primarily in the barbershop style, and ranging from lively up tunes to emotional ballads.

A previous participant at Festival of Voices and winner of numerous Choir Awards at the Hobart City Council Eisteddfod and City of Clarence Eisteddfod over the years, Deep South also performs at a number of community events and has collaborated with other local and interstate barbershop harmony groups to promote and encourage singing in the community.

Hobart Harmony, Tasmania’s only Sweet Adelines Chorus, is made up of around 60 women committed to the art of a cappella performance.

They sing four part arrangements of classic and modern songs in both barbershop and contemporary styles and perform with energy and flair.

“Well-polished with class and attitude, The Velvetones evoke a bygone era where harmony was the norm and we were all better for it” - Naomi Crellin, The Idea of North

Inspired by legendary vocal ensembles such as Manhattan Transfer, The Andrews Sisters and The Chordettes, celebrated vocal ensemble The Velvetones perform everything from heart stirring jazz ballads to cheeky Broadway ditties. Their performances are delivered with beauty, sensitivity, humour, and just enough bawdiness to make them a uniquely memorable act.

Formed in 2018, The Velvetones quickly established themselves as one of the county’s leading vocal acts after being crowned champions National A Cappella Championships that same year. They received special awards for Audience Favourite, Best Jazz Song, Best Comedy Song and Best Soloist.

They have since performed at the Melbourne International Singers Festival, Hobart’s Festival of Voices, Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Barbershop Harmony Australia Festival, Voices in Paradise (QLD) and have enjoyed many guest appearances with other artists and collaborators. They are also passionate and experienced workshop leaders, sought after for their fun and inclusive workshops.

The Velvetones launched their much anticipated debut album in 2022 to a packed house.

ThylaSing is an award-winning a cappella vocal ensemble based in nipaluna/Hobart. Founded in 2017 by musical director Aaron Powell, ThylaSing aims to provide a space for experienced singers to engage with innovative arrangements of contemporary songs and original compositions.

In 2022, ThylaSing won 2nd place in the open division of the Australian A Cappella Awards, as well as a special award for Best Jazz Song. Composer Nic Courto also won Best Original Composition and was runner-up for Best Soloist.

ThylaSing perform regularly around Hobart, with highlights including Love, Loss & Hope at Port Arthur, invitations to sing at Government House and MONA FOMA and many more.

As part of Festival of Voices, ThylaSing have performed regularly in the Voices@5 series and the Pop-Up Program, and have been invited on numerous occasions to perform in the A Cappella Concert. In 2023 they premiered a new song cycle, Afterlife, composed by ThylaSing member Nic Courto.

Image credit: Alastair Bett

Deke Sharon has been performing professionally since the age of 8. As a child he toured North America and shared the stage performing in operas with the likes of Pavarotti. Heralded as “The Father of Contemporary A Cappella” this performer, arranger, music producer, author, producer and coach is responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella. While at college, he pioneered the dense vocal-instrumental sound that we today take for granted as the sound of contemporary a cappella and has spent his life since then performing and popularizing it.

He has arranged thousands of songs, produced dozens of award-winning albums, and written seven books. He was the vocal orchestrater and a producer of the first a cappella musical on Broadway “In Transit” and the opening number of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical “Unmasked.” He’s a frequent emcee at events and gives corporate speeches on business lessons from vocal harmony to companies like Google and Facebook. He has an annual concert at Carnegie Hall each spring, and has shared the stage with countless music legends, including Ray Charles, James Brown, Crosby Stills & Nash, Run DMC, The Temptations, LL Cool J, and The Four Tops, as well as performed the televised “Monday Night Football Theme” with Hank Williams Jr. through the 2011 NFL season.

Deke has been involved on camera, directing or behind the scenes for worldwide successes such as "Pitch Perfect 1, 2, 3" (Universal), "The Sing Off" (NBC) (+Netherlands, China, South Africa), "Pitch Battle" (BBC One), "Pitch Slapped" (Lifetime) and "Best in Snow" (Disney+)

Photo credit: Karolina Wojtasik