VOCES8 wins OPUS KLASSIK choral recording award for Paul Smith’s ‘Revolutions’
VOCES8 and Paul Smith have won the OPUS KLASSIK Choral Recording of the Year 2026 award for Revolutions, released by VOCES8 Records in September 2025.
The album is the third instalment in a trilogy by Paul Smith, following Reflections in 2019 and Renewal? in 2022. Described as a celebration of the VOCES8 Foundation, Revolutions brings together VOCES8 with soloists and VOCES8 Records artists Teena Lyle on percussion, Christophe Duquesne on Continuum Fingerboard, Daniela Mars on flute and Neil Valentine on viola.
The recording was produced by Barnaby Smith, Paul Smith and Alexander Van Ingen. The album also features original artwork by Michał Karcz, with photography by Andrew Staples and Andrew Wilkinson.
Paul Smith, composer and CEO of the VOCES8 Foundation, said receiving the award was ‘a tremendous honour’ and described it as ‘a celebration of the VOCES8 family and community’.
He said, ‘More than twenty years ago, my brother Barnaby and I founded VOCES8 with a simple belief: that music has the power to bring people together. Everything we have achieved since then has been built through collaboration, friendship and a shared commitment to meaningful musical experiences.’
Smith added that Revolutions is ‘ultimately about connection – how people, ideas and stories shape one another’.
Barnaby Smith, artistic director of VOCES8 and the VOCES8 Foundation, said the ensemble was ‘deeply honoured’ to receive the award.
He said, ‘As an ensemble, we have always sought to connect with audiences through the power of the human voice, creating recordings that combine artistic excellence with imaginative programming and meaningful artistic concepts. To have this work recognised by such a distinguished institution within classical music is both humbling and deeply gratifying.’
He added that the award belonged not only to VOCES8’s singers, but also to Paul Smith and the wider community of colleagues, producers, engineers, educators, supporters and listeners connected with the ensemble’s work.
Upcoming releases on VOCES8 Records include Shall We Gather, a collaboration between VOCES8 and Ringmasters, on 24 July 2026; Psalms of Doubt and Wonderment from the VOCES8 Scholars Ensemble and Stockholm Sax Quartet on 11 September 2026; Still Waters, the second album by the Mancunium Consort, on 18 September 2026; and Crossings by APOLLO5 on 25 September 2026.