Voxnorth is a Danish vocal ensemble comprising 10 professional singers and a percussionist, led by music professor Jim Daus Hjernøe from the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark. Voxnorth is dedicated to revitalising and extending the scope of contemporary choral music and, through a competence development orientated collaboration with Korcenter.dk (the Academy of Music, Aalborg, Denmark), to creating an innovative environment focusing on didactics, methodology and artistic development within this field.
Musically, the group focuses on original compositions and arrangements with specific emphasis on the concept of “groove” and innovative forms of group improvisation.

Biography

Voxnorth was formed by Jim Daus Hjernøe in 2005, and up until 2009, the group functioned as an elite choir at the Academy of Music, Aalborg, Denmark. During this period, there were between 14 and 20 singers in the group, primarily music academy students and graduates.
In 2007, Voxnorth released the CD “Essence”, which was singled out for approval by CASA (Contemporary A Cappella Society of America) in the form of two CARA Award nominations in the categories “Best Folk/World Album” and “Best Folk/World Song” (for the song “Night Yoik”), respectively.

Improvised music has gradually become more prominent in Voxnorth’s concerts, often in the form of circle songs. This type of composition and arrangement was developed by US vocal virtuoso Bobby McFerrin and constitutes the principal element of his concerts with the vocal ensemble Voicestra.

In its original incarnation, the group gave over 40 concerts in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany up until 2010 when it was relaunched as an independent, professional vocal ensemble under the name The New Voxnorth. Since then they have given 13 concerts in Denmark, France and the Faroe Islands. Recently, their performance alongside Bobby McFerrin at Aarhus Vocal Festival 2011 marked a career high point for The New Voxnorth.