Ben and Dom are a singing duo from south London. Ben takes the high notes and Dom takes the low notes (most of the time). The intricate blend of their harmonies comes from a close friendship and shared love of singing together. They weave their voices around songs old and new, performing original material alongside new interpretations of folk songs.
"We鈥檙e not out and out folkies," they explained during a break in a full day of leading choral workshops in the UK. "We come more from the choral world but we have a deep love for folk and traditional music with simple and beautiful messages. The marriage of these two styles seems to work very well for us and has led to something which we didn鈥檛 quite expect.
"Our coming together could almost be considered accidental, as we met at a huge choral workshop in London and were paired together to sing a duet. Something clicked for both of us and we decided to spend a little time exploring some creative possibilities and then shortly after we found ourselves in the COVID lockdown, which as awful as it was, gave us an extended period of time to work out some arrangements for two voices and it really seemed to work. So here we are!"
The Vernon Folk Roots Society has brought in these two very affable gentlemen to be the third concert in its 2024-25 season, offering a slightly different folk sub-genre to their regular monthly audience.
"A vocal duo who use mainly their voices and percussion to create their sound will be a different experience for us, but is one we are so very excited to hear," says society president Rob Nichols
Alongside this burgeoning career that is developing, Ben and Dom are experienced choir leaders and community musicians. Core to this collaboration is sharing their love of group singing and encouraging others to join their voices together in harmony. Unfortunately, their tight schedule means they can鈥檛 conduct any vocal workshops this time around, but say that they are hopefully preparing the ground for a further visit at some point in the future.
The Vernon Folk Roots Music Society present Ben and Dom at the Vernon Jazz Club on Wednesday, Nov. 6 starting at 7:30 p.m. Local choirmaster Sylvain Vall茅e will perform a short opening set.
