There are two new(ish) members of the group; bass Aaron Stratton and tenor Drew Ochoa. They have been with the group for some time now, but they are probably the faces you didn't recognize. The alto you highlighted as your favorite in this video is Chrystal. She had a spotlight in the Disney Princess Medley (Pocahontas, Colors of the Wind), but she doesn't get a chance to show off in many of the videos (if Voctave is watching, hint hint). The dissonance right before the end with the supremely satisfying resolution is Jamey Ray's signature, and it ALWAYS works, because he's that good. What was nice here was hearing bass Carl and soprano Kate doing something completely different from their normal roles. Carl has a wonderful voice, but even when he has a lead, it's quite deep (You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, or the Disney Heros and Villains Medley). This was a revelation. And hearing Kate when she's not in the rafters (closer to God) was also nice, but she quickly returned to queen of the high notes, which she (of course) slayed).
It's not new, but their rendition of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" would be a great holiday reaction. EJ Cardona (guy on the far left) has the lead and he blows it away!
They are touring and I have tickets to see them next week!!!!! 🙂 I learned about this group through some videos EJ Cardona (tenor, left front) did with with VoicePlay.
Love this song, the original and here. Adore Voctave and the Voices of Liberty at Epcot, I'll go there just for their preshow performance. Putting my 2 cents in for christmas with Tiffany Coburn's version of Oh Holy Night (esp. with the Orlando Baptist singong trees from 2009ish)
They have some amazing Christmas music which would be perfect to check out this time of year. Mary Did You Know with the writer of the song is heavenly as is O Come All Ye Faithful ❤
Great reaction and yes, they’re all amazing! Crystal, the alto you highlighted as your fav in this one, has a beautiful, rich solo in The Disney Princess Medley (each of the gals is featured) and she also has the lead in Grown-up Christmas List. #Voctave are a part-time group and this don’t put out as much content as we’d like. They have fantastic Disney and Broadway arrangements, suggest: Disney Heroes & Villains (which features the current guys), after you’ve done the Princess Medley mentioned above. Their most-watched video is the Disney Love Medley feat. Kirsten Maldonado from Pentatonix and her ex-fiancé, Jeremy Michael Lewis. My two non-Christmas favs are: You Will Be Found (done during Covid), and The Prince of Egypt Medley - I think their best; it’s audio only but trust me, you won’t care!! They are also well-known for their Christmas music. Suggest: Mary, Did You Know feat. Mark Lowry (he is the lyricist and sings/interprets it as only the author can; he also has MS which is why he is sitting in the video). O Come, All Ye Faithful All Is Well The Christmas Song You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Please, PLEASE, more Voctave! Everything they do is sung to perfection, pick anything and you will be wowed!
On an unrelated note, I would really like to see you react to some filk music - not folk (though the two genres are closely related), but filk, which is the music of SF and Fantasy fandom. While much of it is silly and/or poorly made, there are some real gems if you look for them such as 'The Lightship' by Julia Ecklar, 'Black Unicorn' and 'March of Cambreadth' by Alexander James Adams, 'Bad Magic Day' and 'Fundamentals' by Mercedes Lackey (with Moonwolf Longcor on the former and Kris Klover the latter), the various versions of 'Dawson's Christian' by several performers, or Kathy Mar's cover of 'Merlin'. Tom Smith alone could fill a month of videos with songs such as '307 Ale', 'And They Say I've Got Talent', or 'Rocket Rider's Prayer'.
Turn out all that prolific because it's very hard for them to all get together in the same place unless they are touring. They're very busy in their own endeavors and Voctave is a kind of a special thing they do as they can, from what I've heard. That's why the music videos are few and far between as well.
