ABOUT
FESTIVAL VOICES
Festival Voices is a vocal ensemble rethinking how and where choral music is heard.
Under the co-artistic direction of Gregory Batsleer and Oskar McCarthy, we create work across centuries, styles and disciplines. We give voice to the old, the new and the reimagined.
OLD + NEW
Renaissance motets beside experimental new writing. Baroque choruses with electronics. We bring centuries of music into the same conversation.
REIMAGINED
We take familiar works and rebuild them for new contexts, audiences and sound worlds.
ANYWHERE
Concert hall, festival, outdoors or non-traditional venue, the space is part of the work.
COMMISSIONING
We commission composers and premiere brand new works.
COLLABORATIVE
Composers, producers, instrumentalists, choreographers and other artists are part of the creative process from the beginning.
NEW WAYS IN
We want vocal music to feel open, curious and relevant to people whether or not they already know the choral tradition.
OUR JOURNEY SO FAR
Festival Voices grew out of the festival scene: from the freedom, curiosity and shared experiences that happen when people come together around music.
Our early performances at Wilderness and Latitude shaped the spirit of the ensemble. These were environments built around discovery, where audiences were open to unexpected encounters and where different art forms could meet.
We wanted to explore what happens when voices are placed in new contexts. Over the past ten years, our work has brought together singers, composers, producers, instrumentalists, dancers and artists across disciplines. From our early experiments with electronics and remixed repertoire to live instrumental collaborations and new commissions, we've continued to explore new ways for vocal ensemble music to be created and experienced.
Our journey has taken us from festival sites and clubs to the London Handel Festival, Southbank Centre, Bold Tendencies and, more recently, Kings Place. Following our first appearance at Kings Place in 2025, we are proud to be a Resident Ensemble from 2027.
WHERE WE'RE GOING
The next chapter is about giving these ideas more room to develop.
During our Kings Place residency we’ll collaborate with new ensembles and international composers, and continue to push the boundaries of vocal music. Above all, we're interested in one question:
Where can choral music go next?
Read more about our Kings Place residency.
ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP
Gregory Batsleer and Oskar McCarthy
Co-Artistic Directors
Gregory and Oskar met in 2013 through the National Portrait Choir in Residence programme. They, along with original co-founder Louis Hartshorn, founded Festival Voices in 2017 with a shared ambition to explore new possibilities for vocal and choral music. They have collaborated on numerous projects together since, including festivals, recordings, world premieres, and more.
