The 10th Anniversary VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! composers are here! Bernardo Feldman and Jimena Contreras have been working with schools all over the metro and falling in love with the Twin Cities in the process. Below are a few highlights from their visit. Jimena created a set of videos that gave the elementary students a tour… Read More →
Mexican composers Francisco Zúñiga Olmos and Alephsus Valdés will spend four weeks in the Twin Cities over the course of three visits with elementary schools and community choral singers, exploring Mexican cultural and choral music traditions as part of VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! 2015-2016. The new music they write will be premiered at the ¡Cantaré! Community Concerts… Read More →
Elementary School Residency – Alephsus Valdés Alephsus Valdés has spent his career on musical production and recording, covering the whole process from composing, arranging, recording, mixing and post producing. As a composer, his works focus on theatrical, orchestral, film, and chamber music, with arrangements for different instrumentations. His compositions include writing the entire score for… Read More →
Mexican composers Julio Morales and Jean Angelus Pichardo share a bit of the impact of the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! program in this video, as well as their excitement about the upcoming ¡Cantaré! Community Concert on Thursday at the Ordway. The concert features music they wrote specifically for the choral groups they have been working with during… Read More →
“There is nothing like seeing the face of a composer who hears his or her music sung for the first time,” says Kimberly Meisten, VocalEssence director of community engagement. VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! composers Julio Morales and Jean Angelus Pichardo returned to the Twin Cities in March for a two-week stay to help teach their newly composed… Read More →
Educational program continues to build on tremendous success of its inaugural 2008-2009 season MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (March 31, 2010) – Now in its second season, the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! program links Mexican composers with nearly 500 students and adults in the Twin Cities community through residencies in schools, churches, and choral organizations. This cross-cultural program is designed… Read More →
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (November 4, 2009) – Now in its second season, the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Educational Program links Mexican composers with nearly 500 students and adults in the Twin Cities community through residencies in schools, churches, and choral organizations. This cross-cultural program is designed to encourage a deeper understanding of Mexico’s rich classical musical heritage, develop… Read More →
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com TWIN CITIES STUDENTS COME TOGETHER TO SING—BILINGUALLY! AT THE VOCALESSENCE ¡CANTARÉ! COMMUNITY CONCERT Cultural and artistic residency ends in celebration of song at the Ordway—May 21 MINNEAPOLIS—October 21, 2019—Song has the power to unite, and students in the Twin Cities will come together to sing and… Read More →
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE ¡CANTARÉ! CELEBRATES THE SOUND OF MEXICO IN ORDWAY CONCERT WITH HUNDREDS OF LOCAL STUDENTS, MAY 21 VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! invites a Mexican composer to Twin Cities schools for an enriching cultural and artistic residency program MINNEAPOLIS—January 24, 2019—A concert at the Ordway celebrating the music of Mexico… Read More →
VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! brings the talents of composers from Mexico into Minnesota classrooms. This year’s composers are Bernardo Feldman and Jimena Contreras, who were in Minnesota for a residency March 12-23, 2018. It was their second of three total visits to our VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! partner schools. This trip the composers had an opportunity to meet with… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE ENDS THE YEAR WITH LULLABIES AND LATIN RHYTHMS IN ¡CANTARÉ! Local choral ensemble premieres new music written by Mexican composers and local students in ¡Cantaré! Community Concerts—May 23 MINNEAPOLIS—April 26, 2016—Experience the music of our southern neighbors at a multi-generational fiesta as nationally-acclaimed choral ensemble VocalEssence sings alongside school choirs in… Read More →
Celebrating rich Mexican musical traditions, VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! is a cross-cultural exchange program connecting composers from Mexico with students of all ages across the metropolitan area. Beginning in 2008, VocalEssence began offering the ¡Cantaré! program to Minnesota school, church and community choruses. More than 60 new works have been commissioned and premiered through ¡Cantaré! — and… Read More →
VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Composer Jean Angelus Pichardo talks about the history behind the ocarina, a Mexican musical instrument, and also teaches how to play it. An ocarina will be featured in the premiere of one of Jean’s pieces at the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Community Concert on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at the Ordway Center for the Performing… Read More →
On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, VocalEssence had the honor of participating in a true love story—a marriage proposal delivered via the VocalEssence Chorus with a piece composed by Mexican composer Novelli Jurado, a composer-in-residence for our ¡Cantaré! in Rochester school program. Novelli met Michelle Eng, his now-fiancé, while working with the 2012-2013 season of VocalEssence… Read More →
by Gianna Kordatzky March 30, 2015 Classical Music Jean Angelus Pichardo grew up just outside of Mexico City and picked up a guitar when he was eight. You will find a guitar in most Mexican homes, and Jean’s was no different. As a confident 8-year-old, he asked his music teacher at school if he could… Read More →
