Biography

The a cappella vocal quintet Apollo5 is an offshoot of the Voces8 group; it is part of the same VCM Foundation as the larger group, participating in many of the foundation's educational enterprises. Apollo5 performs a mix of classical and contemporary vocal and choral music, drawing on jazz and pop, folk and traditional music, along with Renaissance standards. Apollo5 was formed in 2010. It was created by the members of Voces8 and its director, Paul Smith, but has new members: Clare Stewart, Greg Link, Alex Haigh, Ciarán Kelly, and Charlotte Brosnan. Like Voces8, Apollo5 draws inspiration from the Swingle Singers and other jazz a cappella groups, as well as from traditional British choral singing. The group gives regular concerts at London's Gresham Centre and has made guest appearances at prestigious venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena, and the British Houses of Parliament. Often under VCM auspices, the group conducts workshops, master classes, a children’s concert series at the Gresham Centre, and outreach projects further afield: these include the Open Mind Programme, which has been supported by Arts Council England, The Merchant Taylors’ Company, and the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers. Apollo5 performs several fixed programs: "O Radiant Dawn" includes classical, folk, and spiritual materials; "With a Song in My Heart" is a mixed program of sacred choral music, spirituals, traditional melodies, jazz standards, and pop songs; "Five-in-a-Bar" features up-tempo swing and jazz melodies. The group also performs "Let It Snow," a holiday program, and "Journey," a collaboration with tenor Paul Phoenix. Like Voces8, Apollo5 has begun to publish arrangements of its material to train other groups in how it performs. The group has recorded several albums on the VCM label, including The Spirit Like a Dove (2018) and O Radiant Dawn (2019).