The perfect ensemble for any project
| Recent Reviews
Carnegie Hall, New York – Louis Andriessen "La Commedia" “Synergy Vocals contributed formidably: the choir, in a way, personified Dante as much (and as vividly) as Ms Zavalloni did.” “As engrossing as the soloists were, it is the chorus and ensemble who carry the biggest weight in La Commedia, and Synergy Vocals and the Asko Schoenberg ensemble were more than up to the task. These are some of the best performers in the new music world – indeed in all of classical music – and they proved their mettle on Thursday night, tackling a work full of wide, sudden contrasts..from the most highly energetic, rock/jazz tinged music, to thorny dissonances, to minimalist grooves, ironic pastiche and sublime beauty all within often tiny spans of time” “Synergy Vocals provided a strong foundation, engaging with the characters of “The Divine Comedy” as they journeyed from the City of Dis to Paradiso, covering a libretto in four different languages (Engish, Dutch, Latin, Italian) along the way” |
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Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles – Louis Andriessen "La Commedia"
Asko Schoenberg conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw April 2010 “a spectacularly sung and played performance..the eight Synergy vocalists were inspired scat singers and inspired madrigalists” “Synergy Vocals provided clear and assured backing throughout” |
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Town Hall, Birmingham - Steve Reich "Music for Mallets" and "Drumming"
The Colin Currie Group February 2010 “Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ.. a riveting account of one of my favourite Reich pieces. A superb concert....a truly wonderful group of highly talented musicians.” "Refreshingly unique, their programme mesmerised the audience. The Colin Currie Group and Synergy Vocals are all very talented and are definitely worth going to see in whatever they take on next." Music for Mallet Instruments - "a riveting account of one of my favourite Reich pieces. A superb concert….a truly wonderful group of highly talented musicians" |
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Queen Elizabeth Hall, London - Steve Reich "Drumming"
Colin Currie Group February 2010 “As the solo female voices start, we could be back in the era of the Swingle Singers” “This was a mesmerizing performance, which was highly appreciated by the QEH’s capacity audience, which included Reich himself. A feast for the eyes as well as for the ears….The voices, whistling and piccolo were blended, adding an interesting timbral effect which was well-balanced…an impressive performance…something I was very glad not to have missed.” "Held together by eye contact, ear contact, intimate understanding of the score and collective breathing, the performance was both aurally and visually exciting" "virtuoso band of musicians…performed with finesse and moment-by-moment satisfaction. No wonder the composer himself, taking his bow at the end, looked so pleased" "Something special happened at the Queen Elizabeth Hall…..That (Steve Reich) was so effusive about the performance added to the audience's already overwhelming acclamation…a mesmerising performance…from all angles, a revelation" |
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Royal Festival Hall, London - Steve Reich "Music for 18 Musicians"
Steve Reich/London Sinfonietta (rehearsals directed by Micaela Haslam) October 2009
"This was a truly spectacular performance by these eighteen musicians, who gave their all to provide a triumphant and dazzling display." "Three thousand people sat gripped….hypnotic …..superbly played" "one of the highlights of London's contemporary music calendar this year…..filled both the Festival Hall's auditorium and the foyer, where the concert was relayed on a video screen in the Clore Ballroom. Excellent choreography and team-work…..this was a truly spectacular performance….a triumphant and dazzling display" |
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Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels – Steve Reich "Music for 18 Musicians"
Ictus October 2009 "Nineteen musicians - all experts in the works of Reich. The audience was in for an exceptional experience, a fascinating and hypnotic journey without equal in classical music - the applause at the end was more reminiscent of a rock concert" |
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Royal Albert Hall, London (Prom 33) – John Adams "Grand Pianola Music"
Edward Gardner/London Sinfonietta August 2009
“the highlight was John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music …. a massively difficult piece to pull off in live performance” “the high point was Adams’s Grand Pianola Music” “the excellent Synergy Vocals” |
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Tennishalle, Schwaz - Reich "Tehillim"
Johannes Kalitzke/Tiroler Symphonieorchester September 2008 "the four women of Synergy Vocals displayed a microphonic virtuosity" Dreh Punkt Kultur Salzburg "brilliant the singers Micaela Haslam, Rachel Weston, Heather Cairncross and Amy Haworth" Kronen Zeitung Tirol "metre changes and repetitions present a challenge in achieving both precision and devotion: the four Synergy soloists were outstanding in this respect" Tiroler Tageszeitung |
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Koninklijk Theater Carré, Amsterdam - Andriessen "La Commedia"
Reinbert de Leeuw/Asko Ensemble June 2008 "well-sung and flawlessly executed evening of musical theater" Bloomberg.com |
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Royal Festival Hall, London - Nono "Prometeo"
Diego Masson/London Sinfonietta May 2008 "almost unbelievably focused and precise....if only live music was always like this" MusicalCriticism.com "excellent performance" MusicOMH.com "a triumph...the great demands placed upon the singers were impeccably met...outstanding musical performances" Boulezian "an unmissable event, brilliantly brought off" Evening Standard "the unbroken 135 minutes of intense music making were given the five-star treatment with a performance of total dedication" MusicalAmerica.com |
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Perth Concert Hall, Scotland - Reich "Drumming"
Colin Currie & friends April 2008 "wholly different - and staggering - musical experience. Colin Currie put together an elite team and led them in a stunning, dramatic version of Drumming - a massive artistic coup for Scotland's youngest and brightest concert hall" The Herald "dream-team...a five-star performance" Perthshire Advertiser |
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Royal Festival Hall, London - Reich "Music for 18 Musicians"
London Sinfonietta directed by Micaela Haslam April 2008 "perfectly coordinated and tinglingly vivid" The Guardian "It's a mystery how this fiendishly difficult hour-long work is done, who cues whom and why no one loses track of the subtly changing repetitions. The miraculous Sinfonietta players dazzled." ThisisLondon.co.uk "blasting performance by the London Sinfonietta and Synergy Vocals" Intermezzo |
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Rose Hall, Lincoln Center, New York
Berio "Sequenza 111" - Micaela Haslam February 2008 "The program opened authoritatively with Sequenza 3, brilliantly performed by Synergy Vocals' leader Micaela Haslam. This piece can only come first and be performed with utter conviction (as it was here) in any setting where all the other Sequenzas are to be heard at one go." Sequenza 21 "thoroughly engaging...her playful performance had as much to do with her vivid facial expressions and lively gestures as with the sounds she produced" New York Times |
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Avery Fisher Hall, New York - Berio "Sinfonia"
Lorin Maazel/New York Philharmonic February 2008 "Synergy Vocals..the highly skilled 8-member ensemble..an electrifying, sumptuously colorful and commanding account...the performance was mesmerizing" New York Times "(Sinfonia)..with the Synergy singers (the rightful heirs of the Swingle Singers) is still perfectly gorgeous. The performance was stunning." Classical Music Network "the music itself was engaging and the performance by London-based Synergy Vocals was remarkable" Feast of Music "the frighteningly competent Synergy Vocals" |
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National Concert Hall, Dublin - Weill "Seven Deadly Sins"
Robert Ziegler, RTÉCO with Ute Lemper October 2007 "The family ...a male quartet, here drawn from the excellent Synergy Vocals" Irish Times |
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Salle Philharmonique, Liège - Berio "Sinfonia", Pascal Rophé/Orchestre Philharmonque de Liège
March 2007 "...une interprétation vigoureuse, dynamique mais sensuelle de cette musique de collages géniaux et de raffinements sonores. Rompu à cet exercice de style particulier les voix des Synergy Vocals sont magnifiques" ResMusica.com |
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Barbican, London - Reich "Daniel Variations", Brad Lubman/Steve Reich & Musicians
October 2006 "Synergy Vocals....crystalline openness" The Times |
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Barbican, London - Reich "The Desert Music", Xian Zhang/LSO "The members of Synergy Vocals sang with enviable purity of intonation and cleanness of attack" |