OVER the past 13 years, singer and artistic director Lynsey Docherty has developed the Celebrate Voice festival that she founded at Salisbury into one of the region’s most exciting and varied events. This year’s festival runs from 21st to 31st October with a line-up of world-class singers and musicians delighting audiences with 11 days of opera, jazz, choral music, folk, theatre, family events and community celebration.
Tickets are going like hot cakes for this 13th Celebrate Voice festival – the opening might concert by The Sixteen at St Thomas Church sold out even before there was any publicity!
From early music delights including Tallis and Byrd to world-famous bass-baritone Sir Willard White and the Brodsky Quartet, from a favourite Offenbach comic opera to jazz greats Norma Winstone and Nikki Iles and folk singers The Wellermen, the festival covers almost every musical genre. Lovers of musicals and films will enjoy an evening with Liza Pulman and Joe Stilgoe celebrating a century of movie musicals in Hooray for Hollywood.
At the heart of the programme is a brand-new Celebrate Voice production of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, given an irreverent 1970s sitcom makeover. Featuring leading opera singers in the Festival’s famously intimate style, the production plays four performances at Salisbury Medieval Hall. (And, as always, look out for Lynsey stealing every scene she is in with her wonderful voice and brilliant comic timing).
Other highlights include twice Edinburgh Fringe First-winning The Horse of Jenin by Alaa Shehada; the hilariously-titled Edinburgh hit FLOP! – Best Songs from the Worst Musicals. Voice & Vitality is a day of singing, acting and movement led by internationally renowned composer Bob Chilcott, with Robert Gildon and Festival artists.
Palestinian artist Alaa Shehada offers a moving and humorous reflection on one boy’s upbringing in Jenin in his one-man show The Horse of Jenin
Families can join Simon Panrucker for the gloriously silly Ridiculous Songs for Kids, while Emerging Voices gives outstanding singers aged 12–20 from across Wiltshire the chance to perform in a professional Festival setting.
Celebrate Voice has always been about far more than the headline artists. Its community programme sits at the heart of the charity’s work, bringing people together through singing, creativity and shared experience.
Celebrate Age, the Festival’s much-loved event for older people, is already fully booked for 2026, while Singing SENDsations welcomes people of all ages with learning disabilities and their caregivers for a joyful day creating original musical theatre alongside professional artists.
Founder and artistic director Lynsey Docherty says: “There is something very special happening around Celebrate Voice this year. While we are fortunate each year to sell out many events – we have never seen tickets move at this pace before, and after 13 years it is wonderful to feel that excitement building so early.
“We have always believed that audiences in Salisbury should be able to experience extraordinary artists right here on their doorstep, in beautiful, intimate venues where you can genuinely feel close to the performance. This year we have some of the most distinguished names in music alongside exciting new artists, young local singers, families and our community participants.
“That combination of world-class artistry and joyful community participation is what Celebrate Voice is all about. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who supports us, and we can’t wait to welcome audiences back this October.”
Founded in Salisbury in 2013, Celebrate Voice has grown into a distinctive multi-genre festival bringing world-class vocal artists together with deep community participation. More than 50 volunteers help make the Festival possible each year, with events taking place at the Medieval Hall, St
Thomas’s Church, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury Methodist Church.
Tickets and full festival information are available at www.celebratevoice.co.uk
Pictured: The Wellermen, the poster for Orpheus in the Underworld, and Edinburgh Fringe hit Flop.