Seldom in my listening career have I heard a vocal

 Wishful Singing is a top-­‐ranking international a cappella ensemble consisting of five young female singers from the Netherlands. Their repertoire covers all variety of styles. Whether performing a tranquil Renaissance harmony or a funky arrangement of a classic pop song, this quintet engages their audience through their powerful © Patrick Post expression, combining a flawless vocal blend with humour and theatrical elements. The five singers first met in the Netherlands Youth Choir. During a sailing trip together on the lakes of Friesland, the idea of Wishful Singing was born. Wishful Singing have won various national and international awards and perform at major venues in the Netherlands. Concert tours have taken the singers to venues and festivals all around the world. Wishful Singing have travelled to many countries, including Japan, Estonia, Spain and Italy. The ensemble frequently performs at festivals in Germany. Recently, Wishful Singing performed at the prestigious City of London Festival and made their USA debut in the summer of 2014 with a tour around Washington DC. Wishful Singing often use theatrical elements in their performances. In “Wishful Singing have that incredibly rare ability to move one to tears with the sheer beauty and pureness of their beautiful voices and at the very next moment leave one on the floor in a helpless pile of laughter.” – Stephen Connolly, King’s Singers 2014, the ensemble presented a new show: "The Winner Takes it All". This dynamic and vibrant theatrical concert draws parallels between sports and singing. For this concert, Wishful Singing worked together with a theatrical director, a poet and a composer to create new compositions to fit the sporty theme. In the season 2015-­‐2016, Wishful Singing will give a series of children's theatre concerts in collaboration with Oorkaan, a Dutch music theatre production house. Wishful Singing have enjoyed successful collaborations with other musicians. Together with jazz pianist Bert van den Brink, the ensemble performed before a full house in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam at a special children's Christmas concert. Other musicians that have worked together with Wishful Singing are the French string quartet Quatuor Hermès and the contemporary ensembles ASKO|Schönberg and Slagwerk Den Haag. With these two ensembles, Wishful Singing performed Steve Reich's Tehillim and Music for 18 musicians at several major venues in The Netherlands. The members of Wishful Singing aim to share their expertise and love of music by offering workshops to other choirs and ensembles. The ensemble is actively involved in music education and recently developed an educational program that is designed to be spread over a number of years of primary school education. Anne-­‐Christine Wemekamp – first soprano “Seldom in m y listening career have I heard a vocal Maria Goetze – second soprano Marjolein Verburg – mezzosoprano group as perfect as the female quintet Wishful Annemiek van der Ven – first alto Marjolein Stots – second alto Singing” – Eindhovens Dagblad