Society president and retired associate professor Judy Bellingham said the festival, which will run from today until Sunday at Burns Hall, First Church, would give young singers the chance to show their skills across a range of music styles.
Vocal sections will feature English art song, lieder, aria, national song, musical theatre, oratorio, songs by women, New Zealand compositions and songs by Robert Burns.
The highlight of the vocal festival will be the ODT Southern Aria Competition. The contestants are Kieran Kelly, Erin Connelly-Whyte, Jemma Chester, Rong Zhang, Griffin Nichol, Phoebe Rose Osborne, Grace Burt, Oscar Kersey, Jasmine Jessen, Rhiannon Cooper, Lillian Gibbs and Emma McClean.
The preliminary round of the aria competition will be held from 6pm tomorrow, and the finalists will vie for the top prize on Saturday from 6pm at Burns Hall.
The singers will be accompanied on piano by Prof Terence Dennis and Catherine Norton. The adjudicator for the vocal competition will be musician and voice coach Frances Wilson.
Miss Bellingham said all sessions were open to the public, and she urged music lovers to come along and support the young singers taking part.
"There will be so much wonderful music, in such a huge range of styles, that there really is something for everyone."
The vocal festival was well timed for young singers studying at universities, who were preparing for final recitals, to get some good performances under their belt.
"It is a real learning experience for them, and a fantastic chance [for] audiences to hear some beautiful singing."
