Don Lee | Chorus America January 10, 2019 https://www.chorusamerica.org/node/9195 North American choruses are anticipating a wave of major anniversaries in the coming years, and their leaders are hard at work preparing to mark the occasions. The most thoughtful celebrations honor a… Read more »
byAlaina Rooke | December 5, 2018: https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_post/community/a-measured-breath-but-no-rest-for-golden-valley-music/article_74816f46-f75e-11e8-9af1-b771ceaf37f4.html Top Minnesota choir director and longtime resident Philip Brunelle looks to 50th year “One of my mottos is you don’t know if you don’t ask,” explained Philip Brunelle of attracting top guest talent to… Read more »
By Terry Blain Special to the Star Tribune APRIL 19, 2018 — 11:49AM http://www.startribune.com/choral-legend-lands-in-minnesota-with-music-composed-especially-for-vocalessence/480270893/ Englishman John Rutter is a phenomenon in the world of choral music, celebrated worldwide for the easy melodiousness of his music — and the joy it brings… Read more »
By Terry Blain Special to the Star Tribune DECEMBER 5, 2017 — 11:12 AM http://www.startribune.com/vocalessence-serves-up-fresh-christmas-music-by-minnesota-composers/462093203/ Musically speaking, Christmas can be an excuse for endless stuck-in-a-loop recycling. Concerts are packed with carols we’ve heard hundreds of times before, served up as… Read more »
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… Read more »
Choir students at Park High School are led by choir director Ben O’Connor, background, in a piece titled Triunfaré by Mexican composer Julio César Morales Pineda, right, in Cottage Grove on Friday, March 20, 2015. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin) By… Read more »
Composer Jake Heggie takes VocalEssence through a new kind of looking glass. By Kristin Tillotson, Star Tribune Posted: March 12, 2015 By its title alone, the choral opera “The Radio Hour” suggests images awash in nostalgia — 1940s families gathered… Read more »
On Arts Advocacy Day, February 19, VocalEssence staff members gathered with like-minded art lovers and shared with legislators the importance of the arts to our lives, communities and economy. Senator Bill Weber from southwestern Minnesota was one of many legislators… Read more »
There is a group of young professionals in the Twin Cities who envision a world where choral music resonates with all people. And while they pursue a broad range of vocations and hail from a variety of locations, they are… Read more »
By Elyse Kaner on June 11, 2013 Published online in ABCNewspapers.com Blaine High School’s Concert Choir was briefly immersed in Mexican culture recently – both musically and beyond. The 82-member auditioned choir last month debuted in concert two world premiere… Read more »
By: Jane Turpin Moore, Worthington Daily Globe Photo Credit: Worthington Daily Globe September 15, 2010, WORTHINGTON — “You have to roll the ‘r’ a little bit more,” suggests Diana Syrse to the 74 members of the Worthington High School (WHS)… Read more »
Birmingham Post: Essence of music in choral singing Jan 13 2009 Leading American choral conductor Philip Brunelle talks to Terry Grimley ahead of his choir’s visit to Birmingham. ——————————– As well as giving the world such pop luminaries as Bob… Read more »
By Rob HubbardSpecial to the Pioneer Press It’s an autumn in limbo for classical music fans who rely on the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to provide their destination concerts. With both ensembles’ musician contracts expiring Sept. 30,… Read more »
Editor’s Note: This piece by Nikki Tundel is part of a series called Minnesota Mix. Minnesota Mix is a project of Minnesota Public Radio News that examines the way youth and ethnic diversity are influencing Minnesota arts. BURNSVILLE, Minn. —… Read more »
By Rob Hubbard Special to the Pioneer Press Posted: 03/23/2009 12:01:00 AM CDT Teenagers are shouting from the balconies. The sellout crowd is on its feet, roaring its approval. The handsome young star stands center stage, pumping his fist, caught… Read more »