For the Coastal Empire’s music lovers, the wait is nearly over. In less than one week, the highly anticipated and nationally acclaimed Savannah VOICE Festival will launch its 2015 season with a carefully chosen array of recitals, concerts and performances that highlight multiple genres.

The Savannah VOICE Festival, now in its third year, is a nonprofit arts organization that brings classical vocal excellence to the region through a two-week celebration every August. This year, events kick off August 2 and run through the 16^th. Tickets for most performances will be available at the door; however, the events are expected to be well-attended. To ensure a seat in the audience, attendees are encouraged to buy tickets in advance or purchase a festival package by going to www.savannahvoicefestival.org.   

One of the festival’s most highly anticipated additions this year is the selection of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” as the featured opera. It will be presented at the Asbury Memorial Theatre on the afternoon of Sunday, August 9 and evening of Tuesday August 11.  Like last year, the VOICE Festival opera will again be made possible by The Ford Plantation’s sponsorship.

The talented trio who ensured the success of “Don Giovanni” in 2014 is returning to Savannah and SVF Executive Director Maria Zouves is confident the production will be well-received.

“The talent and expertise that Edwin Cahill brings to directing our operas combined with the excellence of our conductor, Andrew Bisantz, and our pianist, Christopher Cano, means that Savannah audiences will once again be thrilled by a unique operatic experience in August,” she said.

In addition to jazzing the program up with exciting new content, festival organizers are thrilled to bring some long time crowd favorites back to the stage. Appearing for a third season, Savannah’s own Timothy Hall and this year’s artists present VOICES in Sacred Song at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 at Savannah’s First Presbyterian Church. This event will feature music from oratorio, liturgical music and inspirational song. 

And for attendees who are inspired by the performances to learn more about what it takes to become a voice artist, master classes under the direction of a world-renowned musician are planned. On Monday, Aug. 3 in the Westin Savannah Harbor ballroom, legendary baritone Sherrill Milnes – who co-founded the Savannah VOICE Festival along with his wife, Zouves – will conduct the first of three free master classes.  2015 marks Milnes’ 80^th birthday year and 50^th anniversary of his first appearance at the Metropolitan opera and during these master classes, he will share the process of exceptional singing with audiences while working with the 2015 performers. The other master classes are Monday, Aug. 8 and Saturday, Aug. 10. Each one, sponsored in part by Savannah Friends of Music, The Savannah Harbor Foundation and Gulfstream Aerospace, runs from 1-3 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

As part of its nonprofit mission, the Savannah VOICE Festival and its sister organization, the VOICExperience Foundation, have impacted thousands of people who may never have come into a theater for an operatic performance. This is accomplished through a combination of outreach efforts in area schools and local charities, free educational events, teen workshops and master classes, special goodwill appearances at events, partnerships with community arts organizations, scholarships for area artists and ticket subsidies for the underserved.

To join the VOICE Society, buy tickets for the 2015 Savannah VOICE Festival or for more information about the Savannah VOICE Festival, visit www.savannahvoicefestival.org, email [email protected] or call 855-76-OPERA.