A NEW Taunton-based chamber choir is ready for its first-ever concert, which will be held on Saturday evening at St George’s Church in Wilton.

Voce, a 16-voice auditioned choir, will perform an eclectic repertoire at their debut performance, including reworked pop tunes, classical and sacred songs and madrigals.

The concert, Introducing Voce, will also feature some new compositions written by the choir’s members.

Voce (the Italian word for 'voice') was created in October by its musical director Joe Beckhelling, a freelance musician and singing teacher. 

After it started to hold auditions and rehearsals towards the end of last year, the choir recorded some tracks to send to prospective venues – including one that was broadcast on BBC Radio Somerset – just before Christmas.

Now, the choir's members are eagerly anticipating their first performance. 

 “I’m really excited,” said musical director Joe. 

“Especially with the pandemic, it’s been uplifting, and people are happy to be able to perform together again.

“Some of them are very experienced singing in choirs, and there are a few who used to sing in choirs, but life got in the way and they’re getting back into it now.

“Everyone’s been so keen, which has been great. The attitude of everyone’s been really positive.”

Speaking about the Introducing Voce concert, he added: “The idea behind it is to display a little bit of everything we want to dive into in the future as a choir.”

Introducing Voce will take place between 7pm and 8:30pm at St George's Church.

Tickets will be available on the door for a suggested voluntary contribution of £10, which will help the choir cover the costs of the concert.

Voce has three more events scheduled for this year: One at the Taunton Municipal Buildings on July 17, one at the Music on the Levels concerts on October 30, and a performance at a to-be-confirmed venue on December 4.

For more information, you can follow Voce on Facebook or visit the event page for the concert. 

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