Narberth A Cappella Voice Festival returns for its sixth year


Less than a month to go...
Narberth A Cappella Voice Festival returns for its sixth year on February 21.
The only a cappella festival in Wales celebrates the diversity of singing without instruments (‘a cappella’ – an Italian phrase).
Hundreds of people flock from all over the UK every year for three days of the world’s foremost singers and practitioners, who perform live and run a diverse range of workshops too.
This year’s festival is larger and more diverse than ever before: extraordinary singers of real pedigree perform alongside an international line-up that includes flamenco divas,Welsh-language stars, and everything from Trinidadian folk to calypso and Indian film music, not to mention an enormous communal choir.
In a triumph for the festival, curators of the London A Cappella Festival and internationally-acclaimed vocal group The Swingle Singers will be headlining the festival.
Legendary in the world of a cappella singing, the group are celebrating their50th anniversary.
Also appearing on the star-studded programme is Helen Chadwick of The National Theatre, appearing with her group to perform a set inspired by her Royal Opera House-commissioned piece Dalston Songs.
Caryl Parry Jones of S4C and BBC Radio Cymru will perform a mix of a cappella standards and Welsh classics with her 4o5s group, and there’s loads more.
Smack-bang in the middle of the festival, The Big Sing sees over a hundred people join together in song, for a communal scratch choir which is free to participate in. Wales’ only a cappella festival brings many people from all over the country to Pembrokeshire, but also reflects the strength of our local communities, relying on the help of enthusiastic volunteers to make everything go to plan.
Young people too play a bigger role than ever before in the festival’s 6-year history, in the shape of a two-month intercultural project operating in local primary schools, where children are learning about music and song from across the globe, before bringing their talents and new inspiration to the festival in a youth concert which opens the festival on Friday 21 February.
There are advance discount weekend tickets selling now, as well as individual event tickets, with various concessionary prices and half-price kids' tickets. Event and ticket information is available here.
The festival is fun, friendly and welcomes all ages.
For information visit the Span Arts website or the festival website.

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