Liberty Voices to Launch SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre with Acappella Awesomeness

The SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre will launch its 31st summer season on Memorial Day May 25 with the Florida-based acapella group The Liberty Voices, who have been called "America's premier acappella stylists and the United States vocal ambassadors to the world."

The Liberty Voices, who are leaving Florida for just one day to come to Orem, are best known for their daily performances at Central Florida's most popular tourist attraction (yep, you guessed it, but they can't officially say the name when they perform elsewhere). Their acappella repertoire ranges from patriotic and Americana fare plus some signature Disney songs, showtunes and folk music.

Eight world-class acappella stylists form a group with a thrilling vocal range and tight harmonies, and the singers have performed for six U.S. presidents and toured the country and world where they have been featured on national television, and at national and international conventions.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m., and general admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 3-11 and seniors 65 and older. Patrons can bring a blanket or rent a chair for $1.00 (limited quantities). Reserved areas may also be available for an additional price. Tickets are available at www.scera.org, by calling 801-225-ARTS, or in person at the SCERA Center for the Arts (745 S. State St., Orem), open 10am-6pm weekdays and Saturdays from 12Noon-6pm. The SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre is located at 699 South State, Orem, in the middle of SCERA Park.

"I first saw The Liberty Voices when I visited Walt Disney World, and then happened to see a studio session they posted on You Tube where they sang their famous Disney 'Fly' Medley. It had over half a million views, and I thought our Shell audiences would go crazy for the group. I got in contact with one of the group's members and we were able to work out a date for them to come to Utah," says Adam J. Robertson, SCERA's President and CEO. Robertson adds that you can watch a couple of the group's videos on SCERA's website.

What brings these husbands, wives, moms, dads, studio singers, music teachers and entertainers together is friendship and a shared loved of making music together.

Among the performers is Kate Lott, soprano, who has a BFA in musical theater and has performed at Epcot for Disney for eight years; soprano Jodi De Rosa, who, in addition to entertainment experience in California, Tennessee and with Disney, she also has a piano teaching studio; and soprano Tiffany Coburn, who began touring at age 17 and has performed in more than 20 countries. Performance highlights have been at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Boston Pops Orchestra and recording "Share A Dream Come True" theme song for Walt Disney's 100th celebration.

Alto Sarah Whittemore is a featured soloist and session vocalist in Central Florida; and Chrystal Johnson, also an alto, is a 10-year Disney World veteran and a lead performer in Disney's Festival of the Lion King.

Dirk Donahue, the group's vocal captain, has been a rehearsal director for the Walt Disney Cast Choir since 2000, performs with The Dapper Dans of Main Street in Disney's Magic Kingdom, and is the performing arts director at Johnson University Florida in Kissimmee. Tenor Jamey Ray, a professor of music at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., also writes and arranges for choirs and artists around the world, including The Liberty Voices. Tenor Tony DeRosa has worked for Disney for 19 years and is a freelance artist, session singer and music director for The Liberty Voices and Disney Word's Dapper Dans along with directing three other acappella choruses.

Completing the ensemble are baritone Aaron Stratton and bass Jacob Charles Fullerton. Stratton has many singing roles at Walt Disney World, including The Dapper Dans, "Finding Nemo: The Musical" and "Beauty and the Beast." Fullerton has been professional vocal performer for 27 years, and his career has included doo wop, opera, studio recording and acappella.

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