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Voctave

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  • Comment: This cappella does not appear to pass the notability guidelines on music related topics. Please make sure it passes those guidelines before resubmitting. — Berrely • Talk∕Contribs 16:08, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

Voctave is an 11-member a cappella group based in Central Florida, United States. The group consists of several performers from the Voices of Liberty a capella group at the American Adventure pavilion at the Epcot theme park at the Walt Disney World resort. The group often performs intricate arrangements of music from Broadway, Disney, jazz standards, and Christmas music. Among the unique characteristics which set the group apart from other a capella groups is an extremely wide vocal range of 5 full octaves.[1]

The group's arranger is Jamey Ray, who also teaches at Rollins University in Winter Park, FL.[2] His arrangements blend classical group choral techniques with barbershop and gospel to create a sound that is described as "mind boggling[3]". Tony De Rosa served as musical director for the group from its inception until he left the group in early 2020, along with J. C. Fullerton. The group did not make an elaborate announcement of this change, with the last known mention of Tony and J. C. being an advertisement for a concert in Texas for the Boerne Performing Arts organization.[4]

Drew Ochoa and Aaron Stratton joined the group shortly after the departure of Tony and J. C. and recorded several YouTube videos with the group during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. They are also included on the group's latest album, The Corner of Broad Street and Main Street Vol. 2, which peaked at #6 on the iTunes sales chart in its first week of sales.[5]

Early Career

The group was informally created when Jamey Ray was recording an album of arrangements with a 12-member chorus. He recorded the group singing a collection of Disney music and posted it to YouTube[6]. Based on the response and viewership, he organized a group of 11 talented singers to sing together at events independent of the Disney theme parks, at which nearly all of the members performed on a regular basis. In early 2016, the group released their Disney Love Medley featuring Kirstin Maldonado of Pentatonix and Jeremy Michael Lewis, her then-boyfriend[7]. This video featured three songs about love (I See the Light from Tangled, You'll Be in My Heart from Tarzan, and Go the Distance from Hercules) went viral, accumulating over 29 million views as of the end of 2020.

Over the course of the next 4 years, Voctave has released the self-titled album, numerous Christmas albums featuring both secular and religious music, two albums of the group performing with a symphony orchestra, and two spanning Broadway standards and Disney-themed arrangements.

Discography

Albums

  • The Spirit of the Season (2016)
  • Voctave (2016)
  • Snow (2017)
  • The Corner of Broadway and Main Street (2017)
  • Symphony Series (2019)
  • Symphony Series - Christmas Edition (2019)
  • Somewhere There's Music (2019)
  • The Corner of Broadway and Main Street Vol. 2 (2020)

Singles

  • This Is My Wish (2015)
  • All is Well (2015)
  • Disney Love Medley (2016) -- featuring Kirstin Maldonado and Jeremy Michael Lewis

Other Music

  • Mary, Did You Know? (2016) -- featuring Mark Lowry (songwriter)
  • A Million Dreams (2018) -- collaboration with Vocal Majority
  • Smile (2020)

Members

Current Members

  • E. J. Cardona
  • Tiffany Coburn
  • Ashley Espinosa
  • Karl Hudson
  • Chrystal Johnson
  • Kate Lott
  • Drew Ochoa
  • Jamey Ray
  • Kurt von Schmittou
  • Aaron Stratton
  • Sarah Whittemore

Former Members

  • Tony De Rosa
  • J. C. Fullerton

References

  1. ^ Burton, Ronn. "BWW Feature: VOCTAVE Soars Into The Kristin Chenoweth Theatre In Broken Arrow". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  2. ^ Palm, Matthew. "Orlando's Voctave is hitting the high notes". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ Arena, Ryan (2020-01-22). "Voctave takes natural sound to Luling stage". St. Charles Herald Guide. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  4. ^ "200108Voctave". THE BANDERA PROPHET. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  5. ^ "Voctave - 'The Corner of Broadway and Main Street, Vol. 2' American iTunes Chart Performance". iTunes Charts. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  6. ^ "UP TO THE HIGHEST HEIGHTS". Winter Park Magazine. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  7. ^ Hobbs, Alexis. "Watch This A Cappella Group's Jaw-Dropping Medley of Disney Love Songs". Woman's Day. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
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