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2009 in review
Dear friends and fans,
A peaceful and joyful Christmas season to all of you! We hope you will have time to spend with your loved ones. We're enjoying a bit of rest at the moment, and thought we'd update you on what's been happening!
2009 has been a great year for us and 2010 looks just as exciting.
After almost two years in the making, we finally released our new album in October 2009. "Ferris Wheels" is a collection of songs very close to our heart, written by the great singer-songwriters of our time and the last decades. We recorded it in Woodworm Studios, in the lush surroundings of the English countryside of the Cotswolds, with the help of some of the best production people in the business. We had a wonderful launch concert in London's prestigious Cadogan Hall and were honoured to have Ward Swingle among our guests.
We were busy in the television and radio studios as well. BBC's "Songs of Praise" featured us in May and there is another broadcast in the spring. We also recorded an episode for a new children's series on BBC's CBeebies called "Zingzillas" starting in April - we will let you about the exact time of the broadcast! But what was most talked-about this year was the new hit TV series "Glee" by Ryan Murphy (creator of "Nip/Tuck"). Glee follows a high school show choir in Ohio, drawing from the tradition of the American glee club. The Swingle Singers' music was heavily featured in the pilot episode, which was reported to be one of the most-watched in television history. (We were also played in episode #4.) The pilot was just aired in the UK-with the series kicking off on January 15th on E4-and is about to start in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Ireland and Norway.
We've always enjoyed collaborations with other musicians and composers. In 2009 we shared the stage with some of the best beatboxers around, including Roxorloops (Belgium), Shlomo (London) and most recently Ed Chung (USA, member of NYC group Duwende). We were also very pleased to collaborate again with Italian composer Azio Corghi, peer of the late Luciano Berio. The premiere of his new opera "Giocasta" in Vincenza was quite memorable, presented in the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world, the Teatro Olimpico, designed by Palladio, now a World Heritage Site. The Swingle Singers were in full costume commenting on the events as the Greek Chorus. The cast of singers, dancers and actors was stellar, featuring Ricardo Muti's daughter Chiara.
2009 saw our return to some other great concert halls (e.g. La Scala, Milan), while we also performed in some countries for the very first time (Macedonia, Romania). A highlight was the Vocal Jazz Summit in Mainz this October where some of the world's most famous and talented vocal jazz groups were lined up to perform a series of concerts and workshops. The festival spirit was infectious and it was great to see how much a cappella is thriving all around the world! As always it was great being back in America in 2009, where we spent more than two months on the road. In particular we had a wonderful time with the amazing Boston Pops Orchestra on their New England Christmas tour.
The Year Ahead
Next year, the group is due to return to Russia, Poland, China, Israel and Brazil to name but a few countries. Expect also some appearances at open air summer festivals around the UK!
We are excited to work with conductor and composer Fabrice Bollon who is currently writing a new contemporary orchestral work for us. (His "Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra" has just been premiered by the MDR Orchestra in the Leipzig Gewandhaus.) Plans are also in the pipeline for an exciting project with Richard Niles, London-based American-born producer/arranger, whose credits read like the Who's Who of the music business of the past three decades. Watch this space!
To kick off 2010, we are very pleased to announce the first and long-awaited London A Cappella Festival, produced by the Swingle Singers and Ikon Arts Management at London's newest concert hall, King's Place. We are very excited to host some of the UK's finest groups ranging from the early music stars Stile Antico to current collegiate a cappella champions Out of the Blue. Please join us January 13th-16th for a celebration of a cappella singing!
As always, we are so grateful for your continued support and encouragement! We hope that this finds you in a festive spirit. Have a peaceful holiday, and much happiness in the new year.
Sara, Jo, Lucy, Clare, Richard, CJ, Kevin & Tobias
(pictured below with Dennis Alves and Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops)
