A cappella quartet from Denmark to perform in Brainerd
The Lakes Area Concert Association's season resumes this weekend with Vox P, an a cappella quartet that hails from Denmark.
Show time is 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Tornstrom Auditorium at Washington Middle School.
The concert is open to season ticket holders only -- this is the third in this year's series of five performances -- but season tickets may still be available on a prorated basis. Call 829-3379 for more information.
Who: Vox P
What: A cappella quartet from Denmark
Where: Tornstrom Auditorium at Washington Middle School
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Cost: Call 829-3379
Fresh from an appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York, Vox P is making its first concert tour of the United States this season, according to the quartet's promotional materials.
Classmates -- two men and two women -- at the Institute of Musicology of the University of Copenhagen founded the quartet in 1994. Since then, Vox P has gathered a large following in Denmark with its jazzy arrangements of popular American and Danish songs.
The group has appeared regularly on Danish television and at numerous concert sites, including the prestigious Copenhagen Jazz Festival and the Danish Gallery of Contemporary Art in New York City, the material says.
Allied Concert Services of Minnetonka discovered the group when its president, Paul Folin, listened to Vox P's two recent recordings, "A'KA'PELLA" and "Vox P," a spokeswoman for the booking and management agency said this week.
"We ordered the CDs, loved them, and before we knew it they were coming here (the United States) to perform," Cynthia Folin said in an interview.
Allied Concert Services organized Vox P's debut tour, a five-week swing through the country that concludes March 26, Folin said.
"Vox P's smooth sound is marked by a perfect blend of voices -- soprano, alto, tenor and bass -- and their exactness of pitch and exquisite clarity of tonality make for a oneness of voices," the promotional material says.
The group includes soprano Henriette Moos, alto Birgitte Askou, tenor Bo Gad and bass Jakob Marstrand, who does most of the arranging. Now in their late 20s or early 30s, all are fluent in English.
The group's program will include a variety of jazz and pop standards, such as "Ability to Swing" and "The Little Sandman" as well as a few Danish folk songs.
One Danish music critic said the group "is pure delight. They have rhythm and a sense of timing that goes right into your spine. It really rocks your bones from the first measure and the voices blend and separate in perfect balance."
Allied Concert Services works closely with the Lakes Area Concert Association to develop the series each season, Folin said. The area association has promoted professional music performances in this area for more than 45 years. A season ticket for five concerts costs $25.
Next up in the series is Erika Raum, a concert violinist billed "as one of Canada's most talented young string players," according to an association spokeswoman. Accompanied by pianist Lydia Wang, Raum is scheduled for March 16.