On Sunday evening, Voices International performed the first of three spring concerts entitled "In Tune with the Elements" at the Trifolion in Echternach.

54 singers took to the stage in front of a packed audience of 200 people in the Trifolion's Agora, and were accompanied on piano and guitar for many of their songs. Directed and conducted by Thomas Raoult, Voices International full a full two-hour concert of almost 20 songs from different countries (US, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, Kenya, Spain,...) and in different languages. In keeping up tradition, they were elegantly decked out all in black with a splash of colour courtesy of scarves for the ladies and handkerchiefs for the men.

While the full choir sang many of the songs together, the ladies choir sang a couple without the men, and some had short solos two, showing off the vocal qualities of some of the individual choir members. But the key and strongest component is the choir's harmonies which actually rose a couple of notches from their previous concerts.

From opening with "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "Over the Rainbow", the stage was set for an enchanting evening - the link between the songs being "Elements" - rain, rainbow, earth, water, mountain, moon, flame, river, sea and air. Some were sung a capella and some were accompanied by other instruments including fiddle and tin whistle (Irish folk song), trumpet and saxaphone ("Ain't no Mountain High Enough") and bongo drums for the song from Kenya.

The contrast, yet complementarity, of the songs in the repetoire ensured an evening not to forget. There was even opera, with "Placido è il Mar" by Mozart and "Singin' in the Rain", the latter where Voices International used colourful umbrellas to great effect as props.

Voices International's other two public spring concerts "In Tune with the Elements" will take place as follows:

- Saturday 6 June @ 20:00 @ the Centre de Loisirs Am Sand in Niederanven

- Saturday 13 June @ 20:00 @ Centre Barblé in Strassen

Tickets cost €16 (students €12) and are available from www.luxembourg-ticket.lu, email: ticketlu@pt.lu or tel: 470895-1.

See www.voicesinternational.lu  for further details.

All concert proceeds will be donated to children's charities.

Photo by Geoff Thompson