The Voice Project is an open-access singing project, based in Norwich, England. It is a registered charity and a limited company. It was created by singers Siân Croose and Jonathan Baker in 2008. In 2018, it established a choir in Brighton. It won a Norfolk Arts Award for Music in 2021 and the EDP People's Choice Award for Best Large Organisation in 2013.
Musical directors Siân Croose is a singer, conductor and performance maker with over 30 years' experience creating and directing music projects in the UK. After an apprenticeship in bands and alternative theatre, she trained on the Community Music programme founded by John Stevens. She has run choirs, vocal ensembles, and workshops for singers since 1990, and performed with composer Helen Chadwick and a cappella ensemble Human Music in a wide range of UK festivals and performance projects. Composition projects include Harmonium, a wordless systems-based a cappella project for women's voices and The Dawn Chorus with American composer Brendan Taaffe. She runs Norwich-based choir Big Sky, regularly commissioning new music from award-winning songwriter Chris Wood and others, and performing with storyteller Hugh Lupton and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Lever.
Jon Baker is a singer, teacher and composer who has written extensively for TV, radio and theatre. He is a founder-member of The Neutrinos with whom he has toured throughout Europe and North America. He is a co-founder of The Voice Project and also a co-founder of KlangHaus.
Projects In most years, two shows have been presented, across Norfolk, Sussex and Suffolk. Year Project(s)2008In Tsegihi2009I Prefer the Gorgeous Freedom, Winter Songs (2009)2010Recording Angel, Winter Songs (2010)2011Glossolalia, The Proportions of the Temple, Winter Songs (2011)2012Singing the City (From Dawn to Dusk), City of Strangers2013Ideas of Flight, Nocturne2014Souvenir, Lost & Found2015The Observatory2016Norwich Over The Water (Singing the City), Red Shift2017The Arms of Sleep, Between Stars2018Travels in Light, Timepiece, The Sky is Full of Light2019Nocturne (Songs for a Winters Night), I Reach Right Up to the Sun, And is This a Dream2020Arc of the Sky2021The Distance Between Us, The Recording Choir2022Arc of the Sky2023Distance Between Us, Arc of the Sun2024The Lie of the Land
In Tsegihi Commissioned from Jon Hassell by Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and performed in Norwich Cathedral in May 2008. Music performed by Jon Hassell (Trumpet, Keyboard), Peter Freeman (Bass, Laptop), Jan Bang (live sampling) and Pete Lockett (Drums). Sound and Sound Design by Arnaud Mercier.
I Prefer the Gorgeous Freedom Commissioned from Gwilym Simcock by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Sage Gateshead, and performed in Norwich Cathedral (May 2009), Sage Gateshead, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The London concert was broadcast by BBC Radio 3. Music performed by Gwilym Simcock (Piano), Yuri Goloubev (Bass), Klaus Gesing (Sax) and James Maddren (Drums). Solo singers were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Rebecca Askew (Alto), Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Winter Songs (2009) Norwich Catholic Cathedral December. Solo singers: Bex Mather & Sharon Durant (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson & Siân Croose (Alto), Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Recording Angel Commissioned from Arve Henriksen and Jan Bang by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in Norwich Cathedral in May 2010. Music performed by Arve Henriksen (Trumpet) and Jan Bang (live sampling). Solo singers were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Rebecca Askew (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Winter Songs (2010) Norwich Catholic Cathedral December. Music performed by Lewis Wright (Vibraphone) and Adrian Lever (Piano). Solo singers: Sianed Jones & Helen Chadwick (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson & Siân Croose (Alto), Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Glossolalia Commissioned from Andy Sheppard by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed as part of Jazz Sous Les Pommiers in Coutances, Normandy, Northern France in 2010, and also at Sage Gateshead as part of Gateshead International Jazz Festival in March 2007.
Music performed by Andy Sheppard (Tenor and Soprano Saxophone), John Parricelli (Guitar), Kuljit Bamra (Tabla and Percussion). Solo singers were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson (Alto) and Jonathan Baker (Bass). The Coutances Choir with The Voice Project Choir was conducted by Siân Croose.
The Proportions of the Temple Commissioned from Nik Bärtsch by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in Norwich Cathedral in May 2011. Music performed by Nik Bärtsch and Trio Zèphyr. Solo singers were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Rebecca Askew (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Winter Songs (2011) This piece was performed in Norwich (Catholic) Cathedral in December 2011.
Music performed by Adrian Lever (Piano). The Voice Project Quintet were Sianed Jones & Helen Chadwick (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson & Siân Croose (Alto) and Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Singing the City (From Dawn to Dusk) This piece was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in various locations around Norwich in May 2012.
Composed by Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick, Jonathan Baker and Jeremy Avis. The Voice Project Quartet were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Rebecca Askew (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass). City of Strangers This piece was performed in the Friends Meeting House, Norwich on 15 December 2012.
Composed by Karen Wimhurst, Jonathan Baker, Orlando Gough. The Voice Project Quintet were Sianed Jones (Soprano); Rebecca Askew, Siân Croose, Katherine Zeserson (Alto); Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass). Ideas of Flight This piece was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed in Norwich (Anglican) Cathedral on 11 May 2013 and at St. Benet's Abbey on 13 May 2013.
Music composed by Barbara Thompson, Orlando Gough, Karen Wimhurst and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by Andy Sheppard (Saxophone) and Trio Zephyr. The Voice Project Quintet were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Rebecca Askew and Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass). 'The Birds of East London' was read by Stephen Watts. Nocturne This piece was performed in Norwich (Anglican) Cathedral on 14 December 2013.
Musicians: Derek Scurll (Percussion) and Adrian Lever (Chamber Organ). The Voice Project Quintet were Sharon Durant (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson & Siân Croose (Alto), Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Souvenir This piece was commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and performed on Holkham Hall estate on 17 May 2014.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick, Karen Wimhurst and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by Bold as Brass Quartet and Derek Scurll (Percussion). Solo singers were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Rebecca Askew & Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass). Lost and Found This piece was performed in Norwich City Hall on 6 December 2014.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick, Karen Wimhurst, Jonathan Baker and Dave Camlin, Music performed by Adrian Lever (Piano). Sound Design was by Bill Vine, Lighting Design by Tim Tracey, and Lighting by Pip Cotterell. Human Music were Sharon Durant (Soprano), Helen Chadwick (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson & Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor), Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass). The Observatory The Observatory was a site-responsive piece presented as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and created as part of a partnership with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (SCVA) and the University of East Anglia (UEA). The piece explored poetic, scientific, and musical aspects of humankind's relationship with space, centering on themes of weightlessness, distance, fear of the unknown, infinity, and astronomical geometry. The futuristic design of the show was informed by its setting at the SVCA building.
Commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Music composed by Orlando Gough, Karen Wimhurst, Siân Croose and Jonathan Baker. Performed at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts on 9th/10th May 2015. Music performed by Joby Burgess (percussion), BJ Cole (pedal steel), Adrian Lever (keyboards), Steve Saunders & Lewis Edney (bass trombones). The Voice Project quintet were Sianed Jones (Soprano), Sharon Durant & Siân Croose (Alto), Greg Tassell (Tenor) and Jonathan Baker (Bass). Lighting design was done by Tim Tracey. Norwich Over the Water (Singing the City) Norwich Over the Water was a promenade outdoor choral piece around the River Wensum and Norwich University of the Arts quad in Norwich's historic centre of the textile and dyeing industries. Taking place on a Saturday afternoon, the piece started at The Octagon Chapel and processed across bridges to a finale in the quad of Norwich University of the Arts.
Part of Vocal Invention 2016. The Voice Project Sextet were Bex Mather & Sharon Durant (Soprano), Katherine Zeserson & Siân Croose (Alto), Dave Camlin & Jonathan Baker (Bass). Red Shift This piece was performed on 23 January 2016 in St. Andrews Hall, Norwich. It was a seated performance and the last show delivered as part of the 'Singing the City' programme. It marked the turning of the year with choral music that took the audience from the dark of winter to the promise of spring, exploring themes of dark and light, hibernation and awakening.
Music composed by Karen Wimhurst, Siân Croose and Jonathan Baker. Music performed by Rowland Sutherland (flutes) and Donna-Maria Landowski (percussion). The Voice Project Quintet were Lisa Cassidy & Sharon Durant (Soprano), Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor), Jonathan Baker (Bass). The Arms of Sleep This co-commission between the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, the Brighton International Festival and the Voice Project was performed six times at the Assembly House in Norwich as part of the 2017 Norfolk & Norwich Festival (20 to 26 May 2017) and four times at Firle Place Riding School (nr. Lewes, Sussex) as part of the 2018 Brighton International Festival (10 to 13 May 2018). Taking the form of an overnight performance, forty audience members joined the choir, soloists and instrumentalists for a ten-hour piece during which time the audience slept, were read to, were woken up for a 2.30am ‘dream sequence’ performance and eventually woken again at 7am for breakfast and a final choral show.
Music composed by Orlando Gough, Jonathan Baker, Helen Chadwick & Jon Hopkins. The Voice Project Quintet were Sianed Jones & Lisa Cassidy (soprano), Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor), Jonathan Baker (Bass).
Between Stars This site-responsive piece took place in Norwich Cathedral on 23 January 2017 – making extensive use of the space in a carefully choreographed promenade performance. The seating was removed from the nave to allow the performers to move freely throughout the space and to increase the effect of the lighting design.
Music composed by Jonathan Baker, Orlando Gough, Helen Chadwick and Siân Croose. Music performed by Esther Hopkinson (Violin), Hefin Miles (Violin), John Mudd (Cello), Adrian Lever (Piano), Jeron Gundersen (Percussion). The Voice Project quintet were Lisa Cassidy (Soprano), Rebecca Askew & Siân Croose (Alto), Jeremy Avis (Tenor), Jonathan Baker (Bass). Travels in Light This piece was performed on 20 January 2018 in three churches along Princes Street in Norwich - St. Georges near the junction with Tombland, St. Peter Hungate near the corner of Elm Hill, and the United Reformed Church opposite. It was the third part of the 'Arms of Sleep' trilogy of performances related to sleep, waking and dreaming - following on from Between Stars in January 2017 and The Arms of Sleep in May 2017.