For one weekend every April, singers of all skill levels converge in Northwest Arkansas to compete, perform and learn from the country’s biggest names in a cappella.
On Saturday, April 11, community members and competitors will dive into a day of festival workshops starting at 9 am. These free sessions cover everything from arranging and vocal percussion to choreography and vocal technique, and are open to all singers in the community. Whether you’re a seasoned performer or just getting started, you’ll discover fresh inspiration and walk away ready to make more music.
Judges and workshop instructors for this year’s Voicejam Competition include:
Rob Dietz is an award-winning singer, vocal percussionist, arranger and educator with over 20 years of experience in contemporary a cappella. He is best known for his work on NBC’s The Sing-Off and collaborations with artists and groups including Pentatonix, The Swingles, VoicePlay, Smokey Robinson, Sara Bareilles, and more. Dietz is a founding co-director of A Cappella Academy and director of Legacy, a nationally recognized youth ensemble. He is a published composer, clinician and author of A Cappella 101, and currently serves as the national repertoire and resources co-chair for Contemporary/Commercial music for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Natalie Weiss is an acclaimed singer, vocal coach, and creator of viral sensation, Breaking Down the Riffs®. Her groundbreaking and fun approach to vocal technique has become a growing standard in the music industry. With more than 15 years of Broadway experience, national tours, cast albums, movie soundtracks and reality TV, Weiss has sung with Broadway greats and iconic TV and media personalities including Tori Kelly, Ben Platt, Pentatonix, Katharine McPhee, Gaten Matarazzo and Shoshana Bean, just to name a few.
Jamey Ray is the sole arranger, producer and singer for Voctave. With arrangements appearing on albums by Pentatonix, The King’s Singers and The Swingles, Ray has produced hundreds of recordings and dozens of full albums for multiple Broadway and Disney performers as well as groups including Voctave, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and the Liberty Voices.
Drew Ochoa relocated from Ohio to Orlando to pursue an entertainment career with Walt Disney World in The Voices of Liberty and The Dapper Dans. Ochoa holds a Bachelor of Arts in music education from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Music in voice performance from Roosevelt University. He is an avid a cappella singer in the barbershop style winning the 2018 International Barbershop Quartet Contest with his quartet, After Hours.
Workshop topics and times will be announced soon. For more information about VoiceJam visit waltonartscenter.org/voicejam.
VoiceJam Festival Schedule
VoiceJam Kickoff Concert – Voctave
Friday, April 10 | 7:30 pm
All tickets are $10
VoiceJam Workshops
Saturday, April 11 | 9 am – 5 pm
Schedule coming soon!
VoiceJam Competition
Saturday, April 11 | 7:30 pm
Tickets are $31.05
Want to see the Voctave show and the competition? Get a combo ticket for $31.85 at waltonartscenter.org, by calling 479.443.5600 weekdays 10 am-5 pm.
