Santa Fe Desert Chorale and The VOCES8 Foundation USA have announced the Santa Fe Desert Chorale VOCES8 US Scholars Partnership.

The new initiative will enable Desert Chorale to provide professional performance and training opportunities to participants in the VOCES8 US Scholars Program. Under the partnership, 12 early career singers selected annually will spend two additional weeks in Santa Fe training, rehearsing and performing with Desert Chorale artists during the Chorale’s 2027 Summer Festival. The Scholars will prepare music for, rehearse with and publicly perform alongside the Desert Chorale’s professional ensemble on one of the festival’s 2027 programs, with performances set to take place on July 22, 25 and 31 in Santa Fe and July 24 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The VOCES8 US Scholars Program, which was launched in 2017 and affiliated with the flagship ensemble VOCES8, is led by Paul Smith, chief executive of The VOCES8 Foundation and a co-founding member of VOCES8, along with Erik Jacobson, executive director of The VOCES8 Foundation USA, and creative advisor Anthony Trecek King.

“Santa Fe Desert Chorale is proud to work at the forefront of American choral music and champion the very human part of our living tradition,” said Habermann, per an official press release. “Working with The VOCES8 Foundation allows us to deepen our commitment to developing the next generation of American professional ensemble singers.”

“We believe in collaboration as a way to advance and strengthen the choral field,” added Jacobson. “Through their work with Joshua Habermann and invaluable experiences collaborating with Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s professional vocal artists, our US Scholars will hone their skills while gaining a new perspective on how to succeed in a modern, evolving industry.”