All about the Narberth A Cappella Voice Festival 2023

Meet the performers & workshop leaders

4 in a Bar

This award-winning a cappella group came together originally through a love of ‘barbershop’. The group have an extensive repertoire and perform a mixture of early music and contemporary music. Recent performances have included the Bayreuth Sangeslust — the Sparkassen A Capella event.

Côr Pawb

In 2015, SPAN created Côr Pawb (Everyone’s Choir), a 70-100 strong mass community choir featuring singers ranging in age from six to ninety-six from across the county and beyond. Founded upon the principles of community strength and resilience, Côr Pawb welcomes all voices, regardless of singing ability, to come together for an uplifting celebration of song.

Melissa James

Born and bred in North West London, soul and jazz singer Melissa James was weaned on the soul and calypso records of her West Indian parents as she was growing up in the ‘80s, and the music of Anita Baker, Marvin Gaye and Percy Sledge became part of the soundtrack of her youth. She will be teaching a mood-boosting workshop exploring jazz and soul singing.

Khrystyna Makar

Exceptional Lviv soprano Khrystyna Makar’s opera repertoire includes Handel’s ‘Messiah’, Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ (First Lady, Queen of the Night), and Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ (Violetta) to name a few. She has performed under the baton of some of the most prominent present-day conductors at some of the world’s greatest concert halls such as Vienna, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Oslo, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Munich, and Geneva.

Molara

Molara is an inspirational singer, songwriter, performer and artist, who was a founder member of Zion Train, and has worked with the likes of Femi Kuti; Baka Beyond and Ruts DC. She started One Voice Choir in 2005 to celebrate her love of international harmonies and rhythms, and was one of the founders of NAVF in 2008. She is a former trustee of the Natural Voice Network, and has delivered educational provision of music and the arts to people aged 0 to 106, of differing abilities and backgrounds since 1992.

Stuart Jones

Stuart Jones will be teaching a workshop on songs from the Republic of Georgia – home to one of the oldest and richest singing traditions in Europe. Stuart says:

“Georgian folk music provides an extraordinary sound track to the whole of human life, including: dance songs, healing songs, work songs, love songs, laments, sacred songs and feast songs. Expect scrunchy, vibrant chords and haunting melodies – a singing experience quite unlike any other!”

Camilo Menjura

Camilo Menjura returns to NAVF with his unique blend of Latin American grooves and choir vocal loops. Along with his passion for acoustic music, Camilo is involved in several choirs, vocal projects, and a cappella ensembles, performing with a variety of bands that range from Afro-Colombian & Afro-Peruvian music to Andean Jazz, Sudanese Fusion Music and English pop/folk. He was awarded the “Best Newcomer” award by the Latin American network in 2011 and was named “Musician of the year” by the Latin UK Awards in both 2012 and 2013.

Roxane Smith

Roxane Smith runs community choirs on the Welsh borders (Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Welshpool). She has a fun and upbeat teaching style and is co-musical director of Sing for Water London and Chair of the Natural Voice Network.

One of her workshops will cover acapella pop music from across the decades, which she terms ‘cheesy Pop-a-pella’. The other workshop will be ‘Songs from the Congo’ singing the songs of Mahdia Daulne of Zap Mama, featuring overlappying rhythms and inter-locking vocal riffs to create amazing polylphony.

Rachel Uí Fhaoláin

Rachel Uí Fhaoláin is a traditional singer, researcher, song & folklore collector whose intergenerational work centres around oral culture and the transmission of song & folklore across the generations.

Rachel is really looking forward to sharing some traditional songs in both Irish & English in her family-friendly workshop, while also exploring group singing and harmonising. As a family, Rachel and her two children Éire agus Chulainn really enjoy singing together and experimenting with harmonies. Rachel will teach a newly composed macaronic song in the traditional style (containing both English & Irish lyrics) from Rachel’s own collection, which explores shared folklore between Ireland and Wales.

NAVF 2023 Festival Schedule

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Supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council, The Ashley Family Foundation, Ty Cerdd, and PAVS, in collaboration with The Queen’s Hall and Bethesda Chapel, Narberth.