Acclaimed vocal ensemble Octo Voces Guernsey will present concert entitled Starlight and Moonshine at Guernsey Town Church on Friday 1 May 2026 at 6.30pm, offering audiences an evocative evening of a cappella choral music inspired by night, light, and reflection.

The programme draws listeners into a rich sound-world shaped by moonlight, stars, twilight landscapes, and the quiet emotional space of night. Each work explores a different nocturnal mood — from radiant celestial brilliance to gentle stillness and introspection — creating a musical journey from dusk to deep night.

This concert also marks an important milestone for Octo Voces. Over the past year, the ensemble has expanded to fourteen singers, welcoming new voices that bring fresh colour, depth and flexibility to the group’s sound. Despite this growth, Octo Voces remains firmly rooted in its core identity: an a cappella ensemble dedicated to eight-partchoral music, from which its name is drawn. The larger ensemble allows for greater richness and balance while preserving the clarity and intimacy that eight-part writing demands.

The programme includes David Bednall’s Assumpta est Maria , the most technically demanding work of the evening. With soaring vocal lines, shimmering harmonies and rhythmic independence across eight exposed parts, the piece builds a powerful musicalimage of ascent and light. It serves as both a challenge and a celebration of the ensemble’s technical and expressive range.

Also featured is Kerensa Briggs’ Ubi Caritas , a contemporary favourite praised for its warmth, simplicity and emotional depth. Built on gently unfolding harmonies, Briggs’ setting of the ancient text invites stillness and contemplation, allowing the singers’ blend to resonate beautifully within the acoustic of Town Church.

Completing the programme is Eleanor Daley’s Grandmother Moon , a serene and lyrical work inspired by Indigenous North American poetry. With rocking rhythms and expansive melodic lines, the piece offers a moment of moonlit calm and reflection — an earthy yet ethereal contrast to the evening’s more radiant works.

Together, these pieces form a constellation of sound: luminous at times, shadowed at others, but always expressive and deeply human.

Octo Voces warmly invites audiences to join them for this atmospheric evening of choral music and reflection, and hopes that Starlight and Moonshine will bring moments of beauty, stillness and quiet wonder.

Singers

1st Sopranos: Debbie Bideau, Leonie Pike. 2nd Sopranos: Sally Henderson, Kate Ogier

1st Altos: Rob Harnish, Kate Sproule. 2nd Altos Chiara Bird, Erik Sharman (conductor)

1st Tenors Jonanthan Morriss, Ian Burnett. 2nd Tenors Julian Lane

1st Bass Mac Armstrong, Tom Lewis. 2nd Bass Tim Feak (founder / organiser).

Event Details: Concert: Starlight and Moonshine Ensemble: Octo Voces Guernsey

Date: Friday 1 May 2026 Time: 6.30pm Venue: Guernsey Town Church