Voice, a British vocal trio, will feature love songs and Shakespearean-era ballads, accompanied by the Temple Judea Choir in both French and Hebrew.
As part of an effort to provide expanded cultural events to its community, a Bucks County synagogue is reaching across an ocean, a continent and hundreds of years for its next offering.
Voice, a British vocal trio, will rock the house on Feb. 20. The concert is part of the Arts and Ideas Series at Temple Judea in Furlong. The performance, which is open to the public, will feature love songs and Shakespearean-era ballads, and the trio will be accompanied by the Temple Judea Choir in both French and Hebrew. Temple Judea member Marc Baylin, who serves as the group’s manager, is organizing the concert.
Victoria Couper, one of the members of the group, told the Jewish Exponent she visited a synagogue when she studied Judaic and Sephardic songs at The School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She described it as a “lovely space” and is looking forward to performing at Temple Judea.
“Being able to share the music with people is one of the most important things,” Couper said.
Voice returned to the U.S. in February and will collaborate again with cellist Matt Haimovitz. The trio performed with Haimovitz during their 2015 tour, which included the world premiere of the three winning pieces from the compositional competition for trio and cello sponsored by Oxingale Music.
The ensemble, which is touring the country for the third time, is here for three weeks. The group has released two albums and the performance at Temple Judea is their only stop in Pennsylvania.
They will sing “Havah Nashirah” with the Temple Judea Choir — the first time the trio has sung in Hebrew. The choir learned two songs, “La Nobia” and “Go Lassie, Go,” which they will also perform with Voice.
Voice, which has been around for a decade, is comprised of Couper, Emily Burn and Clemmie Franks. They are all in their early 30s and grew up in Oxford, England.
Couper, who sang in choir as a child, actually began her career at the age of 12 when she joined Sinfonye, another a cappella group that she and her bandmates still sing in. She looked up to Joni Mitchell and Vivian Ellis.
“I think that was something that was sort of just part of life,” she said, reflecting on her love for music.
Although the trio has not been able to practice with the Temple Judea Choir, the two groups have been in constant communication.
Margery Hewitt of Doylestown, who serves as the choir director, has watched them on YouTube and really enjoys their music. She acknowledged that the songs they will perform in Hebrew might be a bit difficult for them, but is confident they will be fine.
“I think it’s probably a little harder for us than for them,” she said, referring to performing together. “We’re honestly flattered that they wanted to include us. They have beautiful voices.”
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