VocalEssence Ensemble Singers

The Oxford Times (UK) declares “VocalEssence have a blend that could – and should – be the envy of every choir in the business.” Founded in 1991, the 32-voice professional VocalEssence Ensemble Singers are recognized internationally for their extensive European tours, broadcasts via the European Broadcasting Union and two invitation-only appearances at the World Choral Symposium (1999 and 2002), the world’s most prestigious global gathering of choral music. The Ensemble Singers serve as the professional core of the larger 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 by conductor Philip Brunelle, who leads the group with the assistance of Associate Conductor Sigrid Johnson.

With their “superbly blended sound” (Birmingham Post, UK) and “exemplary technique” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers possess the flexibility to interpret a wide choral vocabulary including numerous world premieres written expressly for their voices by Dominick Argento, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Aaron Jay Kernis, Libby Larsen, Stephen Paulus and Alvin Singleton.
 
Best known throughout the United States for their appearances on the internationally-distributed radio show A Prairie Home Companion, the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers are featured on two recent CDs with Garrison Keillor: Over the River & Through the Woods and Hymn to Potatoes (and other choral masterpieces from A Prairie Home Companion). VocalEssence has released a total of thirteen commercial recordings, including four WITNESS CDs of music by African American composers and artists originally released on the Collins Classics label. The VocalEssence recording of Britten’s Paul Bunyan was awarded the prestigious British Gramophone Award for Best Opera Recording in 1988.

Auditions are held by appointment only. To schedule an audition, call 612-547-1452 or email info@vocalessence.org.

For more information on VocalEssence auditions, click here.

Updated July 2009