Savannah VOICE Festival serves community with partnerships and free events during their twelfth season this August
For its 12th “Homecoming” season, the Savannah VOICE Festival (SVF) is serving the community by collaborating with community partners and making the vocal arts accessible through outreach and free events. The season includes festival venue partnerships with nonprofit organizations including Yamacraw Performing Arts Center, The Davenport House Museum, and The Demere Center for Living/Hospice Savannah.
Free events include “VOICES in Sacred Song” at First Baptist Church, 223 Bull St. on Wednesday, August 14 at 6:30 p.m. Timothy L. Hall and the Festival artists offer an afternoon of musical inspiration and comfort in the beautiful sanctuary of Savannah’s First Baptist Church. SVF’s mission is serving the community through outreach events in area schools, community centers, and for local charities. Free educational events and master classes are a way to provide training for aspiring young artists and foster new audiences for the vocal arts.
“We always give back to the community as a vital part of our mission and are pleased to be continuing our long-standing community partnerships during this year’s Festival,” said Chad Sonka, Education and Outreach Director of SVF. “It is important to us that we continue to show our appreciation to the city and residents that welcomed us over 12 years ago.”
This year’s free “Masters in VOICE” series will be held at the Demere Center for Living, which is located at 6000 Business Center Drive. These master classes give audiences an inside look at the preparation and performance of the operatic singing style by renowned opera professionals. Each of the master classes listed below will be held at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 6 at the Demere Center for Living:
A pre-festival/Studio event hosted by Maria Zouves, President and Co-Founder of the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs, VOICExperience Foundation, and the Savannah VOICE Festival.
Friday, Aug. 9 at the Demere Center for Living:
Renowned stage director Fabrizio Melano, along with psychotherapist Laura Melano Flanagan, share their unmatched expertise with a new generation of artists, taking the dramatic aspects of music to another level for the audience to enjoy.
Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Demere Center for Living:
Metropolitan Opera assistant conductor, Yale Presidential scholar, renowned pianist, and vocal coach Howard Watkins works with our studio artists as part of this educational series.
“When Sherrill and I founded the Milnes VOICE Programs, we wanted education and outreach to be the focal point in every initiative we started. Now, it is the very foundation of our programs and we have found such joy in partnering with the local community and serving the young artists in it,” said Maria Zouves, Co-Founder and President of the Milnes VOICE programs.
Savannah VOICE Festival is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt nonprofit arts organization in the state of Georgia. The Festival brings classical vocal excellence to the Savannah area through a two-week celebration of concerts, events, and educational presentations during the month of August and throughout the year. Focusing on arts awareness and audience development in the performing arts, it offers music from opera, musical theater, and popular song. The Savannah VOICE Festival is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. GCA is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Donations are tax-deductible.
At ‘Got Art?’ Every Ticket is a Winner!
Annual Art League fundraiser is a drawing for over 100 donated works of art
Art League of Hilton Head’s annual fundraising benefit, Got Art?, makes collectors out of art enthusiasts. Every ticket holder will receive an original work of art during the live drawing. This year the drawing will again be a hybrid event—attendees can attend in person or via Zoom. The artworks, donated by Art League member artists, may include paintings, drawings, photography, collage, jewelry, ceramic works, and sculpture. Each is valued at $200 or more.
Each ticket costs $100, and only 100 tickets will be sold. Participants are invited to preview the 100-plus works of art at Art League Gallery, located in the Arts Center at 14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head Island, SC. The preview will last three days—September 10, 11, and 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A special ticket-holder preview reception will be held on Thursday, September 12 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., just before the drawing takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in person and via Zoom. During the drawing, ticket holders will choose a piece of art when their name gets called at random. You never know when your name will be called or which pieces will still be available when it’s your turn to choose!
Got Art? always proves to be a popular and lively event, so get your tickets today. To purchase a $100 ticket, click here or call 843-681-5060. Tickets are also available at Art League Gallery and Art League Academy.
