| Artsfest 2005 | Birmingham ArtsFest 2005 takes place from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th September. Last year over 115,000 people attended ArtsFest. This year ArtsFest is part of the Urban Fusion project. Urban Fusion is a programme of work funded by the Arts Council and the Millennium Commission. The Urban Fusion programme covers six key themes around music, poetry and literature, city regeneration, cultural diversity, visual arts and the celebration of talent. |
There’s always a centre piece to ArtsFest and this year one of the highlights will be the Big Voice, taking place on Saturday 10th September, and the organisers are looking for people to take part. What's it about?  | | Lucy from Ex Cathedra |
Up to 1000 singers will descend on the city, proceeding by candlelight along the streets and canals into the heart of the city centre, ending in Centenary Square, when all the 1000 voices will be singing in harmony. The procession will be split into four groups, with each group following a different route into the city centre, passing through Broad Street, Corporation Street, the Bullring and the Mailbox, until they finally come together in Centenary Square. The Big Voice will be lead by Ex Cathedra, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and the City of Birmingham Young Voices. Other groups and choirs participating include Notorious, City of Birmingham Choir, SAMPAD and Birmingham Opera Company. Keeping in time  | | Member of the Dhol Blasters |
Each group of singers will be headed by a drummer who will be following a central beat – this will come from a drummer who will be located on the rooftop of a city centre building. Each processional route into the city will also be accompanied by different instrumentalists to create a variety of musical styles such as gospel, religious, traditional and contemporary. The hymn The Big Voice singers will be performing Hanacpachap cussicuinin (pronounced Hanach pachach koosi-queenin) a 17th century Latin American processional hymn. Lucy Reid, from ex Cathedra Choir said that although it sounds difficult, it’s actually an easy piece to learn! "The piece chosen is an Inca ritual from 1631 – it’s simple but very mesmeric, a nice a processional piece . It’s got 20 versus and each procession will be singing a number of versus. "We’re hoping that members of the public will join in with the procession, and follow it along to Centenary Square." The procession will last for approximately 40 minutes with a 20 minute performance in Centenary Square. Getting involved  | | Susannah, a vocal tutor and member of Ex Cathedra |
Organisers are looking for people, whether individuals or groups to take part in the procession. Anyone interested will be sent a copy of the music so they can rehearse the versus. You can also arrange for a professional vocal tutor to attend your rehearsal free of charge – or as an individual you can learn it on the day at a special Big Voice rehearsal. A bit of vocal coaching for free Susannah Vango is a vocal tutor and singer with Ex Cathedra. She’s just one of 10 tutors who will be taking some of the rehearsals. "It should be really good fun. People don’t have to be really good at singing – it’s about everyone taking part." Children can also get involved in The Little Voice, a singing procession taking place around Centenary Square and Broad Street on Sunday 11th September. Who to contact If you're interested in taking part you can contact Sharon Foster on 0121 464 8555 or e-mail uban_fusion@birmingham.gov.uk A fun-filled ArtsFest The rest of the ArtsFest programme is packed with performances which will take place in and around the city centre at various venues including Symphony Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the Mailbox, Brindleyplace, St Martin’s Church and the Rep theatre. There will also be stages in Centenary Square featuring live acts from Friday night through to Sunday evening. ====================== We’ll have more features and details about ArtsFest in the coming weeks. | 
