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EVENT: Music Lives Here, Preparing for Re-Entry Part 1
Apr 26 @ 4:53 am
Join us on Thursday to see a online rehearsal demonstration to prepare you for upcoming rehearsals this fall. Zoom Information https://stolaf.zoom.us/j/98077756921?pwd=ek9wTFRMbFFQZmxxU215ZzRHYXQ0Zz09 Meeting ID: 980 7775 6921 Password: musiclives Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Background A day of new possibilities began on Monday, May 11 as representatives from ACDA-MN (Diane Heaney,… Read More →
Bridge of Song Reverb
As a professional choir conductor for 20 years, I’ve learned to read the subtle cues in the room before the singing starts, but I’d never before experienced a feeling quite like the one at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis on that July night. It was only a week since the tragedies in Falcon Heights and… Read More →
Classical MPR Invites the Community to Unite in Song this Thursday
Inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s plea that we respond to violence with a renewed resolve “to make music more intensely, more beautifully, and more devotedly than ever before,” we as artists have gotten together to create a musical response to the most recent tragedies. We hope you will join us in our efforts to unite our… Read More →
Be In “Musical Bliss” at Listeners’ Choice LIVE
You voted, and now VocalEssence and Classical MPR are preparing to reveal the listeners’ choice top 25 choral countdown. Whether you are a soprano, alto, tenor or bass, the VocalEssence Listeners’ Choice LIVE performances this April will wrap you in one big choral blanket of warmth. Our singers cannot hold in their excitement: “Both I… Read More →
Preview ‘Controlled Burn,’ on the Program for Dreams of the Fallen
For those who would like a preview of one of the pieces that will be performed at the VocalEssence Dreams of the Fallen concert on October 11, 2015, which features songs of survival, hope and healing, here is a look at “Controlled Burn.” The VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers, conducted by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, performed “Controlled… Read More →
Star Tribune: Classical music: Fall’s big 5 include Mahler, Martin Fröst and ‘Dreams of the Fallen’
By Graydon Royce September 11, 2015 — 1:48pm ‘Dreams of the Fallen’ Jake Runestad, one of the choral world’s hot young composers, set music to the words of Iraq war veteran and poet Brian Turner for this concert by VocalEssence and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra that tries to comprehend the incomprehensible experience of the warrior.… Read More →
River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain: Alexandria Tour Delights Onstage and Off
From the full houses for six performances June 23-28, 2015, to relaxation on the water and community engagement, the River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain: Alexandria Tour offered the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers a wonderful time in residence at Theatre L’Homme Dieu in Alexandria, Minnesota. The Star Tribune published an in-depth article on the theater… Read More →
Star Tribune: L’Homme Dieu opens theater season at Alexandria: L’Homme Dieu is an outpost of the civilized arts amid the natural beauty of summer in Minnesota.
By Graydon Royce Star Tribune July 2, 2015 — 3:00 pm Video (03:27): It takes Don Shelby two hours to transform into Mark Twain for the L’Homme Dieu Theatre production of River Songs with Mark Twain in Alexandria, Minn. Alexandria, Minn. – The show started about midnight. High above the campfire audience at Theatre L’Homme… Read More →
Gather at the River with Mark Twain Performance and Raffle Raised Funds and Spirits
Saturday, May 2, 2015 was a beautiful day to be on the Mississippi River aboard the Minnesota Centennial Showboat, enjoying cocktails and appetizers on the Victorian Deck, followed by river songs and tales with Don Shelby as Mark Twain, fiddler Sara Pajunen, and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers conducted by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu. Visit our Facebook album… Read More →
Gather at the River with Mark Twain—and Win Tickets to the Rolling Stones, Mill City Opera, the Wild and More
As if you didn’t already have enough great reasons to join us for the Gather at the River with Mark Twain fundraiser for VocalEssence music education programs on May 2, here are five more: The fabulous raffle prizes described below offer the winners another evening of top-tier entertainment—and four seasons of wine! So make plans… Read More →
Gather at the River with Mark Twain: Tunes and Tales, Fiddling and Fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MasuVCxo0CQ Don Shelby as Mark Twain invites you to Gather at the River with Mark Twain, a fundraiser for VocalEssence choral music education programs. Hear river songs and tales on the historic Minnesota Centennial Showboat with the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and the fine fiddling of Sara Pajunen. Hop aboard on May 2, 2015 for a… Read More →
VocalEssence Associate Conductor Sigrid Johnson announces retirement
CONTACT: Mary Ann Aufderheide 612-547-1454 maryann@vocalessence.org VOCALESSENCE ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT Sigrid Johnson steps down at end of 2014-2015 Season MINNEAPOLIS—February 23, 2015—VocalEssence, one of the world’s premier choral music organizations, announces today that its long-time associate conductor, Sigrid Johnson, will be retiring from the organization at the end of the 2014-2015 season. Johnson has… Read More →
Gather at the River with Mark Twain to Support Choral Art
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com GATHER AT THE RIVER WITH MARK TWAIN TO SUPPORT CHORAL ART Twin Cities-based VocalEssence and Don Shelby host fundraiser cruise for music education—May 2 MINNEAPOLIS—February 16, 2015—Join the 32-voice VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and television legend Don Shelby as they travel back in time on the historic Minnesota Centennial Showboat to… Read More →
Videos featuring Dessa with VocalEssence have national debut
Two videos featuring hip-hop artist Dessa performing with VocalEssence at the Made in Minnesota concert in October have debuted on the National Public Radio website. “Skeleton Key” was written by Dessa, and “The Good Fight” was written by Dessa and Andy Thompson; both were conducted by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu. “When Dessa reworks her songs with the… Read More →