SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival

SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival launches its 13^th year with 20 free and ticketed events happening from May 25 to June 2, 2024. The full festival schedule, festival passes, and tickets, including some pay-what-you-can tickets and discounts for students and arts workers, are available now at singtoronto.com. 

Toronto’s only a cappella festival features concert performances incorporating an array of musical styles — from folk to pop, classical to jazz, R & B to spoken word, and even beatboxing and battle rap. This year’s festival takes place at a number of locations across Toronto, with virtual events also available.

Performance highlights include:

• Countermeasure & Quayside Voices: Toronto’s Countermeasure features 12 of Canada’s top a cappella singers, performing innovative arrangements of pop favourites, jazz standards and original songs. Fan favourite Vancouver’s Quayside have been entertaining audiences with their energizing a cappella take on their favourite pop hits for more than a decade.
• Asian Heritage Concert: In celebration of Asian Heritage month, SING! presents a variety of Asian artists and groups, including Asian Riffing Trio (pop / R&B), Janice Jo Lee (loop / spoken word) and champion beatboxer Two.H from South Korea.
• SING! with Pride featuring Slaight Music SING! Legacy Award winner Charlotte Moore: An allied event with Pride Toronto, SING! presents Tempo, Singing Out and other LGBT2S+ vocal ensembles and artists. The evening will also include a performance from Canadian musical theatre icon Charlotte Moore, who will receive the 2024 Slaight Music SING! Legacy Award for her contributions to the vocal arts in Canada and internationally.
• That Choir: One of Toronto’s most exciting professional a cappella ensembles, combining high-calibre performance with storytelling through choral music.
• Art Battle featuring Beatsync and Scott Jackson: A one-of-a-kind painting showdown features artists competing to craft masterpieces in just 20 minutes per round, accompanied by live entertainment and followed by a silent auction of all original works.

The festival will also showcase world-class beatboxing, with performers from around the globe:

• Great North Beatbox Battle – Day 1: Beatboxing, battle rap, beat production and graffiti. Features AFTM Winner Showcase set, solo beatboxing, KOTD freestyle rap battle, beat production battle (Fresh Kils vs Memorex), loopstation beatboxing, and beatbox judge showcases Elish and River. This event is a qualifier for the Swissbeatbox Grand Beatbox Battle, the largest global competition of beatboxing, taking place in Japan in November.
• Great North Beatbox Battle – Day 2: Beatboxing, breakdancing, battle rap, beat production and graffiti. Features UBL 7 to Smoke breakdance battle, solo beatboxing, loopstation beatboxing, C-Fresh and Nick Beatbox showcases, a Dylan Hennessy performance, beatbox judge showcase Two.H, and live art.
• All from the Mouth - Beatbox Workshop and Open Mic: Learn the basics of beatboxing to set your foundation, then let beatbox champions River’ (France), Two.H (South Korea) and Scott Jackson (Canada) share some of the advanced sounds and techniques that made them beatbox champions. The evening will include live producer showcases and performances from Saint Villain, The Wookiez, Intelx, Chaix, Reazhun, Spenny & Eric Gordon in collaboration with PTRN SLCT

A number of free events are available, including:

• Outdoor Concerts in the Distillery District: Peterborough Pop Ensemble, Lala Noel, Quayside Voices, FreePlay, and Pressgang Mutiny
• Outdoor Concerts in Kew Gardens: Featuring a wide variety of vocal music.
• Virtual Aca-Film Festival and Concert: Filmed in 2023, this 90-minute film includes three internationally-renowned SING! short films in various genres, pre-recorded Q & A with the films’ directors and actors, and a concert by Countermeasure.
• Lunchtime Nathan Phillips Square Concert: Quayside Voices, Sing with Ukraine and The Kosa Choir
• Sea Shanty Singalong with Pressgang Mutiny: Toronto’s shantymen, Pressgang Mutiny, and their guests host a singalong evening of salty and harmonious shanties from around the world. Lyrics will be provided.
• Ruach Singers: A fresh approach to liturgical and Hebrew vocal music, with shades of contemporary jazz, pop and modern world genres.

The festival will also offer a free Virtual Music Business Summit hosted by industry experts, with seminars including the rise of AI in the arts, music rights and the law, personal branding and marketing, and career paths for collegiate singers.

Ticket prices range from free to $40, with some shows offering pay-as-you-can options or half-price tickets for students and arts workers. Festival passes are $150, with three-day beatboxing passes available for $74. The full schedule with pricing is at singtoronto.com/2024-events.

 A registered charity, SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival also aims to encourage the next generation of singers. The festival includes a School Workshop Day, a full day of interactive workshops for grades 7-12, facilitated by festival headlining artists and other performers. And the I Love to SING! vocal arts and performance program (ongoing to September 2024) offers youth from across Toronto the opportunity to be mentored by professional artists in weekly sessions.

 This year’s partnership with Beatbox Canada illustrates the wide-reaching depth of the vocal arts. “A cappella music is about so much more than traditional barbershop or choral singing,” says SING! co-manager Patricia Silver. “A cappella encompasses musical styles and traditions from around the globe, from world to beatboxing, classical to jazz, and folk to pop.”

 “In this era of struggling festivals, SING! is grateful to be entering its 13^th year with the support of our partners, sponsors, donors and audiences,” Silver says. “We’re proud to continue to present the best of a cappella throughout Toronto, and across the world through our virtual offerings.” 

Since its launch in 2012, SING! has expanded to several partner festivals in Texas, as well as SING! Edinburgh at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, SING! Mexico, SING! Edmonton and SING! Vancouver. SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival has also been chosen as one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals and Events for the past decade.

Sponsors

SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival is supported by - Soprano Sponsors: Government of Canada, Ontario Creates, TD Bank. Countertenor Sponsors: Sanderson Entertainment Law, Toronto Arts Council. Alto Sponsors: Nickel 9 Distillery. Tenor Sponsors: Centauri Arts, Harris Institute. Legacy Award Sponsors:  Slaight Music. Bass Sponsors: Baird Artist Management, Canoe Financial, MetalWorks. Hotel Partner: Holiday Inn Express Downtown. Media Sponsors: Acaville Radio, CIUT FM, Maple Music Cafe, Toronto OnDemand, WAVE.FM. Music Business Summit Sponsors: Canadian Music Spotlight, Long & McQuade Musical Instruments.

Website: singtoronto.com