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What do you get when the world’s premier sacred choir starts to educate new young singers in the timeless musical tradition of the Catholic faith? The answer, supported by the video featured below, is a brand-new sacred choir with all the finely tuned skills of VOCES8 themselves: The VOCES8 Scholars.
In 2017, VOCES8 launched the US Scholars Programme, for which they accepted 12 talented young men and women who are dedicated to singing in choral and small ensemble groups. Along with hands-on vocal training from coaches Paul Smith, Erik Jacobson, and VOCES8, the Scholars gain experience in recording, performing, and even leading their own vocal workshops.
In this way, the esteemed sacred choir passes down the unique teaching tools developed through the VOCES8 Method. Published in English, French, and German, the VOCES8 Method is an innovative educational resource that encourages music as a foundation of education, while highlighting links between music and literacy, numeracy and linguistics. The Method has been featured in industry magazines in the US and UK, and is currently being taught in thousands of schools across nine countries.
VOCES8 writes of the Method:
“It helps better prepare students for their school day and develop key learning skills, which will have a conscious and subconscious effect on their academic learning process.” The choir added on its website, “Using the VOCES8 Method also leads to additional benefits in the areas of physical and mental health; self-awareness; confidence; teamwork; problem solving, and creative thinking.”
The fruits of VOCES8’s US Scholars Programme are clear to hear in “Jubilate Deo,” a recording featuring the VOCES8 Scholars that was released on September 7, 2023. These talented young singers have grown so adept at their craft that if you close your eyes you might not even know that it wasn’t the original members of VOCES8 singing.
We can’t wait to hear more from the VOCES8 Scholars, as this novel idea to educate the next generation of sacred singers may soon fill the world with talented young choirs to lift their voices in the music of prayer. There are a few more recordings of the VOCES8 Scholars on VOCES8’s YouTube page that can be enjoyed right now.
