Feral Choir is a project by Phil Minton, which has been in development for 20 years, and it consists of a three day workshop and a performance, not only for singers but for anyone who takes a delight in the freedom to experiment. It encourages participants to take a vocal leap and explore all vocal possibilities through exercises and improvisations, over the workshop period, leading to a concert.

As a part of our New Work New Audiences project, Phil Minton's workshop was held in Belgrade on Wednesday 25 May and Thursday 26 May 2011. Public performance where participants presented their work to the public was held on the evening of Friday 27 May in the Cultural Centre Rex.

The workshops normally begin with laughter, a non-verbal 'vocal technique' which uses the voice in spontaneous, inventive and sometimes very extreme way. Phil Minton believes that anyone who can breathe is capable of producing sounds that give a positive aesthetic contribution to the human condition. Some of the choirs have been made up of actors and musicians, but many have been amateur groups with no previous musical interest or experience, for whom the experience has been unforgettable.

Feral Choir workshops and performances have been held in over 15 countries and the first visit to Belgrade is organised as a part of the Festival of Self-Managed Choirs SVI U GLAS! with the support from our office in Serbia.   

More information on Feral Choir is available on Phil Minton’s website.

Who is Phil Minton?

Phil Minton is a British singer, trumpeter, composer and improviser. Both his parents were amateur singers and he learnt to play the trumpet from the age of 15. He then played and sang with local jazz groups before moving to London in 1963 to play with Mike Westbrook. From the mid 1960's he worked in dance bands in the UK, Canary Islands and Sweden. He rejoined Westbrook in 1972 and was a regular member of The Mike Westbrook Brass Band until 1984, playing trumpet and singing extensively in Europe, USA and beyond. Through the last 30 years he's worked mainly as an improvising singer and sung with most of the worlds leading improvising musicians and composers. He is currently a member of improvising groups TooT, NoWalls, 5Men Singing, fORC, Adorno, Speeq and Axon. He also has a quartet with Veryan, John Butcher, and Roger Turner, and plays duos all these three musicians. In 2005, he was a NESTA awardee.