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The Verbier Festival Academy’s Atelier Lyrique is unique among voice programmes by offering the study of both opera roles and song repertoire in a supportive and inspiring setting as well as the opportunity to perform as part of a renowned international festival. The Atelier’s alumni are among some of today’s most sought after young performers.
The UNLTD Collective is made up of dynamic and forward-thinking alumni of the Verbier Festival Academy who develop and present innovative original projects.
Sukhishvili was officially founded in 1945 by Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili. It was the first professional state dance company in Georgia.
It’s utterly due to them that Georgian national dance has become popular all over the world.
Since 1945 three generations of Sukhishvili family are managing the Georgian National Ballet. Nowadays, Nino Sukhishvili (granddaughter of the founders) is General Director/CEO and Iliko Sukhishvili Jr (grandson of the founders) is Artistic Director and Chief Choreographer of the company. In over 500 tours Georgian National Ballet has toured five continents, more than 90 countries, held over 10,000 concerts at which more than 50 million people have attended.
Depuis bientôt 40 ans, l’Ensemble Vocal du Haut-Valais (Oberwalliser Vokalensemble), sillonne la Suisse et l’Europe sous la direction de son fondateur, Hansruedi Kämpfen. L’obtention de nombreuses distinctions lors de concours internationaux et la participation à des concerts prestigieux ont rapidement donné à l’ensemble une reconnaissance nationale.
Depuis une première victoire inattendue, en 1989, au Concours International de Gorizia, l’OVE a très régulièrement été primé, tant lors de concours nationaux qu’internationaux. En 2013, il se voit décerner le Premier Prix de la Catégorie Elite du Concours Suisse des Chorales. En 2017, il remporte deux prix prestigieux : tout d’abord, à Riga, le Premier Prix de la Catégorie Ensembles vocaux de l’European Choir Games, puis, à Maassmechelen (B), le Troisième Prix (meilleur chœur européen de l’Ouest) de l’International Choir Contest.
L’OVE est régulièrement invité par des festivals prestigieux, en Suisse et à l’étranger. Il s’est notamment produit dans le cadre du Luzern Festival au côté du Hilliard Ensemble, au Zermatt Festival sous la direction de Marcus Creed et Ton Koopman, ou encore au Verbier Festival sous la baguette de Michael Tillson Thomas, Zubin Mehta, Jesus Lopez Cobos, ou encore Fabio Luisi.
Depuis sa création, l’OVE explore un très vaste répertoire. Il reçoit d’excellentes critiques, tant pour ses interprétations de Bach, en petite formation, que dans le répertoire romantique. Durant ces deux dernières décennies, l’ensemble a souvent créé des œuvres contemporaines, notamment de compositeurs valaisans tels que Eugen Meier ou encore Andreas Zurbriggen. En 2016, l’OVE accepte l’invitation du célèbre compositeur suisse Carl Rütti et crée Mysterium Montis, projet de vêpres pour 6 cors des Alpes, double chœur et solistes. Les concerts donnés à Köniz, Arlesheim, Einsiedeln et Brig rencontrent un immense succès et le nombreux public leur réserve lors de chaque concert une standing ovation. Ces concerts seront suivis par la réalisation d’un CD et d’un DVD.
En 2018, l’Oberwalliser Vokalensemble a tenu une place importante lors des BrigerMusikNächte.
Celebrating its 15th year in 2025, APOLLO5 continues to thrill, move and inspire audiences as one of Britain’s smallest but most impressive vocal groups. Comprising a soprano, mezzo-soprano, two tenors and a bass, the ensemble – which takes its name from the ancient Greek god of music – has become known for its ability to connect with intimacy and directness, showcasing with rich, dynamic and distinctive sound how powerful five voices alone can be. With a versatile approach to music programming, and a repertoire spanning renaissance, classical and contemporary choral works to folk, jazz and pop, the group’s five voices bring the music of five centuries to life.
APOLLO5’s busy touring schedule has taken the group to Europe, the USA and Asia. In addition to performing at prestigious UK venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St John’s Smith Square, the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican Centre, the group has toured extensively across France, Germany, and other European countries, including recent appearances with an orchestra and a brass band in Lisbon (PT) and Prague (CZ) respectively. The group is a regular guest on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, and often receives airplay from the national broadcaster, as well as other UK stations Classic FM, Magic Classical and NTS Radio. 2024/25 tour highlights include a three-week trip to the USA under new agency representation, appearances at European festivals such as Common Ground (NL), La Folle Journée (FR), and Koorfestival Vlaanderen (BE), and a performance at the Barbican Hall as part of sister group VOCES8’s 20th Anniversary celebrations in June 2024.
The group has released six solo studio albums on the VOCES8 Records label. Haven, which explores the music of troubled, displaced and persecuted composers and features a full setting of William Byrd’s Mass For Five Voices, was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. Other albums include Where All Roses Go and O Radiant Dawn (both of which charted in the top 5 of the UK Classical Charts), winter disc A Deep But Dazzling Darkness, and Invocations, a piano-accompanied treasury of favourite songs recorded with composer and arranger Fraser Wilson. In January 2025, APOLLO5 will release their seventh album, Anam, a Gaelic-tinged programme of “music to move the soul”. During the pandemic, APOLLO5 was part of the launch of LIVE From London, a series of live broadcasts from many of the world’s leading vocal ensembles and orchestras. These online concerts brought music to the homes of millions during the pandemic, and raised funds for more than 500 artists, composers and production teams in the process; the festival continues to thrive online in today’s post-pandemic world.
As part of the VOCES8 Foundation, APOLLO5 works alongside VOCES8 and Paul Smith to deliver a transformative programme of workshops, masterclasses and concerts to over 40,000 young people annually in the UK, Europe, and the USA. Over the past few seasons, the group has worked with thousands of young people and adults across France as part of Association Sing’In projects, performing in such memorable locations as a football stadium, a circus and a royal abbey to large audiences. Much of APOLLO5’s UK-based education work is carried out at the Foundation’s home, the VOCES8 Centre at St Anne & St Agnes Church in the heart of London. The group has also helped lead an extensive singing project in the London boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, working with inner-city schools and supporting their teachers. Now in its eighth year, this project is supported by the Masonic Charitable Foundation, the Worshipful Company of Glovers, The Big Give Trust, and a number of private trusts and generous individual donors.