Savannah VOICE Festival (SVF) announces a new initiative to offer lovers of the vocal arts, live music online during these times of social distancing as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SVF has already introduced the regular posting of previously unseen concerts on its YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/3dSHpRA.

The new ‘Virtually Live’ series will launch in early May 2020 and will take the place of the previously scheduled Prelude series, which begins the launch of the 8^th annual Savannah VOICE Festival scheduled from August 1-23. SVF is currently planning for the 2020 festival to take place this August, with season plan announcements to be made and tickets to go on sale in June. However, the organization will continue to assess and respond appropriately in line with public health recommendations as the current situation evolves.

Prelude week will have a new format this year, as SVF remains committed to sharing diverse programming. The inaugural ‘Virtually Live’ season from May 4-9, will offer live mini-concerts, lectures and informative events through live-streaming, as well as interviews with legendary baritone and co-founder of SVF, Sherrill Milnes. Milnes is celebrating his 85^th birthday year in 2020 as well as the 20th anniversary of the founding of his training program and SVF's sister organization, The VOICExperience Foundation. Festival favorite artists including Liz Lang, Emily Yocum Black, Nan Qin, Peter Lake, Jessica Ann Best and Zachary Sebek. They will perform live mini "Interlude" concerts during the week of May 4, 2020 and co-founder of SVF, Maria Zouves is currently developing the schedule for this exciting week. This will also include informative talks and lectures about everything from Mozart to Modern Music.

“As audiences are currently denied the experience of gathering to enjoy music, modern technology is serving as a meaningful and dominant platform,” says Zouves. “We are fortunate to live in a world where we can create new ways to make music for our audiences. It is a powerful way to connect as a community. We care deeply about the health, safety and wellbeing of musicians and music lovers throughout the world.”