Adelaide’s leading male A Capella group, the Festival Statesmen Chorus, will celebrate ten years of music this coming Saturday 31 August 2019.
Sharing a wide range of repertoire including contemporary hits and classical favourites, the evening will take a journey through the past ten years with anecdotes from tours and stories that have led to the penultimate ten-year moment! The ten-year show will be the largest in this national award winning vocal group’s history.
“The concert will be an evening to celebrate how far we have come and also to share our visions for the future,” said Founder and Musical Director, Jonathan Bligh.
Bligh has had an illustrious career in the arts in Australia and internationally and has worked as a Vocal Coach, Ensemble Singer and Music Educator. He recently returned from the USA where he was studying a Master of Music at the Westminster Choir College (Princeton). In addition, he has a Bachelor of Music (Elder Conservatorium, Adelaide), a Graduate Diploma of Education (University of Adelaide) and a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (London).
The Festival Statesmen Chorus was recently awarded not-for-profit status paving the way for the ensemble to grow on their already strong foundation. Formed in 2009, and featuring Adelaide singers, the all-male ensemble exists to provide a platform to achieve vocal and performance excellence.
The chorus has headlined a number of choral festivals all across Australia and regularly runs workshops for secondary school students. In addition the ensemble has received countless awards across a variety of genres, hosted 3 sold-out shows in the Adelaide Fringe and in 2018, the Festival Statesmen took out 1st place in the National Barbershop Convention with the highest score in Australian history from the international panel of judges.
“The most incredible part of the result was not the award or the score, but the response from the audience and judges. Our performance will stay with me for the rest of my life” said Bligh. “Sometimes, as an artist, there is a moment in time when the performers and audience truly connect. This was one of those occasions.”
After the concert, the Statesmen will have a busy end of year with a trip to Hobart for Barbershop Harmony Australia in September. In November they will sing in the annual Adelaide Christmas Pageant to be held in the middle of the city.
The chorus will also perform at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe Festival in February and March before heading to the USA in June to represent Australia at the International Barbershop Convention in Los Angeles thanks to their record-breaking national win.
The Festival Statesmen Chorus will present their ten-year anniversary concert at the Woodville Town Hall on Saturday 31 August 2019. For more information, visit: www.festivalstatesmen.com.au for details.
Image: Festival Statesmen Chorus