FEATURING: The St. Olaf Choir VocalEssence Chorus VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Jocelyn Hagen, piano Catherine Rodland, organ Anton Armstrong, conductor Philip Brunelle, conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor
On September 24, many gathered together at the Hilton Minneapolis for the VocalEssence Gala 2022: Celebration of Song, which celebrated all the ways singing together improves our singers’ lives and our community! The evening was filled with song, a live and silent auction, delicious food, an engaging program with a powerful event video (see above),…
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Charles Wood. Charles Wood 1866-1926 Charles Wood was an Irish composer and teacher primarily remembered and performed as an Anglican church music composer. Wood received his early education at the Cathedral Choir School in Dublin… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Eric Whitacre. Eric Whitacre b. 1970 Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular musicians. His works are programmed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united singers from more than… Read More →
By Pamela Espeland MinnPost | May 12, 2021 Guthrie to start presenting plays in October; the weekend’s hybrid Art-A-Whirl Guthrie to start presenting plays in October; the weekend’s hybrid Art-A-Whirl ALSO: VocalEssence’s “Witness 2021” concert to livestream; Collide Theatrical Dance Company presents “Wonderland”; and more. On Thursday, July 8, the Guthrie, including the Amber Box on… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Sir Arthur Bliss. Sir Arthur Bliss 1891-1975 Sir Arthur Bliss was one of the leading English composers of the first half of the 20th century, noted both for his early, experimental works and for his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Jennifer Higdon. Jennifer Higdon b.1962 Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers. She is a major figure in contemporary Classical music, receiving the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Virgil Thomson. Virgil Thomson 1896-1989 Virgil Thomson was a many-faceted American composer of great originality as well as a music critic of singular brilliance. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, his early connection to music came… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Sir John Stainer. John Stainer 1840-1901 Sir John Stainer was an English organist, church composer, and a pioneering early musicologist. As a boy, Stainer sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral and was appointed… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Maurice Duruflé. Maurice Duruflé 1902-1986 The French organist and composer Maurice Duruflé is known for the extraordinary sensitivity in his music. At age ten, he entered the choir school at Rouen Cathedral, where he was… Read More →
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 →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Ysaÿe M. Barnwell. Ysaÿe M. Barnwell b. 1946 The composer and singer Ysaÿe M. Barnwell writes meaningful music that choirs love to sing. After studying violin for fifteen years and majoring in music in high… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Ina Boyle. Ina Boyle 1889-1967 The Irish composer Ina Boyle was the foremost female composer in Ireland before 1950. She lived her entire life in her family home in Enniskerry, a village in County Wicklow,… Read More →
