Kirsten

Vivace Singers were created in 1998 by students of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with an aim to perform accompanied and a cappella music for female voices from the sixteenth century to the present day. Generally comprising up to an octet the group works as a true ensemble, without musical director. Their membership now encompasses some of the most promising young female singers primarily resident in Wales. All are soloists in their own right. They perform and record extensively as freelancers with organisations including the BBC National Chorus of Wales.They are often invited to augment other choirs for performances of mixed voice repertoire. They recorded the choral works of Basil Harwood for Priory Records in March 2005 which marked the debut of Vivace Singers as a mixed voice choir. Most recently, in March 2006, they recorded the church music of John Ireland continuing their association with Priory Records. They are looking forward to making their début at the Ledbury festival in July 2006.The singers perform a very broad repertoire of music including sacred, opera, gospel, folksong, cabaret, musical theatre, jazz and pop, drawn from each individual singer's area of speciality and interest. They also write and arrange their own works, often by request, for broadcasts, concerts, weddings or corporate functions.They are fast-gaining an international reputation which includes working in collaboration with New York based; award winning composer, Steve Cohen whose work is regularly heard in venues including Carnegie Hall. Vivace Singers premiered a number of his pieces during 2005.With extensive appearances in the UK (including Halifax Chamber Music Festival, Warwick University, St David's Hall in Cardiff and the Wales Millennium Centre lunchtime foyer concert series), the group's international début came in April 2004 when they represented Great Britain at the America Cantat IV Choral Festival in Mexico City.Corporate entertainment includes performances for the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation, Bosch, Mercedes Benz, Cardiff County Council, Caerphilly Borough Council, Henderson Group One PR, IKEA and Black Horse Ltd.The singers have performed on a number of BBC radio and television broadcasts including Sunday Half Hour, Daily Service and Songs of Praise (St David's Day transmissions in 2001and 2003). They also work in the media music field, most recently recording incidental music by John Hardy for the S4C TV series Fondue, Rhyw a Deinosors (Fondue, Sex and Dinosaurs) broadcast in October 2003. They renewed their collaboration with John Hardy on 24 & 25 June 2006 when they performed the world premiere of a new choral piece along with Serendipity and Only Men Aloud! entitled Spaces - beyond the end of the world. Performances to full houses took place at Chapter Arts Centre in Canton, Cardiff. The work was supported with funds from the Arts Council of Wales and the PRS Foundation.They have recently performed with the Gwalia Singers, Mal Pop and Steve Balsamo at the Swansea Grand Theatre, Morriston Orpheus Choir and are looking forward to Morlais Male Choir later in 2006. They made their début to critical accalaim at the Lower Machen Festival on 21 June 2006 where they will be performed works include The Dancers by Grace Williams.Their début CD Blue Moon was released in June 2002. Traditional folksongs, breezy jazz and well-known pop-songs from the eighties are given a dynamic new choral twist.