Festival Voci Audaci
Beyond the Boundaries of Singing
International Festival in the area of Locarno, from March to May.
Artistic Direction: Oskar Boldre, Santuzza Oberholzer
Promoted by OSA!
Voci Audaci aims to valorise the work of artists who – daringly and courageously – search for new paths to liberate the voice from stylistic and other constraints in order to develop the voice as an instrument.
The chameleon adequately represents the symbol for the choice of performers: artists of all “colours” and backgrounds who spread a contagious energy and are willing to be contaminated by exploring a diversity of cultures. Curious artists who are ready to play and experiment with new vocal possibilities, whilst remembering their own vocal roots and heritage. Vocalists who preserve traditional memory and seek to live it also through important changes, thus building a sound-bridge between the past and the future.
Voci Audaci are also those who dedicate their work to a “spiritual” approach to singing, in the sense of participation and sharing that reaches beyond the constraints of ideologies, doctrines, and religions. Singing as archaic emotional communication, able to flow from heart to heart, naturally conveys sharing and the search for harmony. It can be seen as a form of prayer.
Nature, inexhaustible source of inspiration, is the basis for the voice’s great strength. The instinctive art of imitation and transformation of the sounds that surround us let it resonate inside and through us.
Voci Audaci focuses on the use of the voice as an instrument, often free from words, to develop singing that expresses the voice’s rich emotional potential. The audience is invited to open their ears of imagination – often blocked by excessive stimulation through mass media – and to fully experience the wealth of humankind’s oldest sounding instrument.
2011 - 8th Edition
CONCERTS
- BEÑAT ACHIARY & PHILIPPE DE EZCURRA traditional Basque music - F
- DENSHÕ SHINOBU KIKUCHI & BAND Japanese tradition meets the Occident - JAPAN
- MODULATA CARMINA a cappella quintet, Byzantine, Ambrosian and Hebrew songs – CH-F
- ANCORE D'ARIA polyphonic choir, Ethno/Experimental and Improvisations – ITALY
- QUEMANDO PALABRAS JUAN PINO & BAND "contaminated" Ethno-Pop – ECUADOR/COLOMBIA/CHILE/DENMARK/CH
- GOCCIA DI VOCI polyphonic choir with multiethnic repertoire – CH
- WE BE 3 a cappella Trio, Improvisations - USA
WORKSHOPS
- BEÑAT ACHIARY – traditional Basque songs and vocal improvisation
- RHIANNON – Advanced vocal improvisation
- JOEY BLAKE – Vocal improvisation for beginners
- DAVID WORM – Vocal percussion
- RHIANNON/JOEY BALKE/DAVID WORM/OSKAR BOLDRE – Choral circlesongs
2010 - 7th Edition
CONCERTS
- MAYBE 6 sextett with ingenious a cappella pop. ITALY
- SKAIDI duo voice-contrabass. NORWAY
- A CUMPAGNIA historical a cappella quartett. CORSICA-F
- AHURA PROJECT vocal and instrumental quartett Sufi meditation. TURKEY
- SUDEN AIKA vocal and instrumental quartett. FINLAND
- WE BE 3 a cappella trio, improvisation. USA
WORKSHOPS
- RHIANNON – Advanced vocal improvisation
- JOEY BLAKE – Gospel & spirituals choir
- DAVID WORM – Vocal percussion
- RHIANNON/JOEY BALKE/DAVID WORM – Choral circlesongs
2009 - 6th Edition
CONCERTS
- GRUPPO EMILIANO vocal and instrumental quartett, virtuoso and comic. ITA
- U DIAVOLE E L’ACQUA SANTE quartett with traditional music from Puglia. ITA
- GOSPEL JAM multiethnic quintett. TOGO/AFRICA
- WE BE 3 vocal trio. USA
- TRAN QUANG HAI harmonic chants and applications. VIETNAM
WORKSHOPS
- RHIANNON – Advanced vocal improvisation
- JOEY BLAKE – Gospel & spirituals choir
- DAVID WORM – Vocal percussion
- RHIANNON/JOEY BALKE/DAVID WORM – Voicestra choir
2008 - 5th Edition
CONCERTS
- STIMMHORN DUO voice, overtone, guitar, accordeons and manipulated alphorns, CH
- NORN female vocal trio and percussion, CH
- BOLDRE-MAURI Duo voice and bass clarinett, ITA
- ANCORE D’ARIA polyphonic choir, ITA
- JOEY BLAKE solo piano and gospel voice, USA
- VALRAVN quartett with voice, percussion, viola, hurdy gurdy, and electronics, DANKMARK
- ASCONA VOICESTRA choir with workshop participants led by Rhiannon, Joey Blake and David Worm, USA
WORKSHOPS
- RHIANNON – Advanced vocal improvisation
- JOEY BLAKE – Gospel & spirituals choir
- DAVID WORM – Vocal percussion
- RHIANNON/JOEY BALKE/DAVID WORM – Voicestra choir
2007 - 4th Edition
CONCERTS
- KAMYLIA JUBRAN, WERNER HASLER oud, voice and electronics, PALESTINA/CH
- FARAUALLA women’s vocal quartet + 2 percussionists, Puglia ITALIA
- SUNA vocal/instrumental quintet, DANIMARCA/NORVEGIA/CH
- KARIN MARI’, DIDINE STAUFFER voice and percussions, CH
- BRUNO BIERI, OMRI HASON voice, overtones, jodler, hang and percussions, CH/ISRAELE
- KAUSHIKI CHAKRABARTY quartet, voice, tambura, tabla and harmonium, INDIA
- WE BE 3, RHIANNON, JOEY BLAKE E DAVID WORM, voice, USA
- SEXTHA CONSORT+ANCORE D’ARIA, guitar orchestra and vocal quartet, ITALIA
WORKSHOPS
- RHIANNON – vocal improvisation
- JOEY BLAKE – gospel/spirituals choir
- DAVID WORM –vocal percussions
- RHIANNON/JOEY/DAVID - Ascona Voicestra choir
2006 - 3rd Edition
CONCERTS
- NORN women’s vocal trio, CH
- RHIANNON, solo performance, USA + “voicestra” workshop choir, Ticino CH
- EGSCHIGLEN, septet accompanied by world instruments + overtones, MONGOLIA
- DAVID MOSS, solo performance, voice, percussions and live electronics, D
- THIAREA, women’s vocal trio and percussions, MADAGASCAR
- LOTEN NAMLING, voice solo voce and world instruments, TIBET
- VOCAL SISTERS, vocal sextet, ITA.
- SHYAM SUNDAR GOSWAMI, voice and traditional instruments, quintett, INDIA
WORKSHOP
- RHIANNON - “Voicestra” Ritual improvisations
2005 - 2nd Edition
CONCERTS
- STIMMHORN DUO, voice, overtones, guitar, accordeon and alp horns, CH
- LUISA COTTIFOGLI DUO, voice, looper and guitar, ITA
- AHOP O’ MY THUMB, a cappella trio, CH
- ANTONELLO CASSINOTTI, voice, ITA
- OSKAR BOLDRE, voice, overtones and live electronics, ITA/CH
- MARYAM AKHONDY & BANU, a cappella women’s sextet and percussions, IRAN
- BALKANES, women’s a cappella quartet, BULGARIA/FRANCIA
WORKSHOP
- ANTONELLO CASSINOTTI: “ecce voce”. The creative voice
ROUNDTABLE
Subject: travel companions: language or non-language?
with: MARYAM AKHONDY, ANTONELLO CASSINOTTI, OSKAR BOLDRE.
Moderator: Cristina Foglia RSI.
2004 - 1st Edition
CONCERTS
- ERIKA STÜCKY TRIO, voice, trombon, bass tuba, CH
- FARAUALLA, women’s vocal quartet + two percussionists, Puglia ITA
- BERNHARD JAEGER, overtones and gongs, CH
- JAAP BLONK, voice, OLANDA
- MIRIAM PALMA, voice and percussions, Sicilia ITA
- ANCORE D’ARIA, a cappella septet, ITA/CH
WORKSHOP
- BERNHARD JAEGER, overtones
ROUNDTABLE
Subject: Vocal improvisation: turning point between old and new?
With: JAAP BLONK, OSKAR BOLDRE, BERNHARD JAEGER.
Moderator: Patricia Barbetti RSI.