VocalEssence performed with the Rolling Stones on stage during their one-night-only performance June 3 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, a stop on the 15-city North American ZIP CODE Tour. VocalEssence Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle and Associate Conductor Phillip Shoultz both conducted. “It was an amazing experience,” Philip Brunelle told MPR News, when… Read More →
The VocalEssence production of The Radio Hour snagged a national debut in May on American Public Media’s YourClassical.org. Whether you missed the Midwest premiere performance in March or want to enjoy it all over again, take a look at this video of the 40-minute choral opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. The VocalEssence… Read More →
After 12 weeks of rehearsals, the VocalEssence Vintage Voices choirs at Sabathani Community Center Senior Center (shown in the video above), Open Circle at Heritage Park Senior Services Center and Ecumen Seasons at Maplewood performed concerts at their respective locations; the concerts were free and open to the public with a reception following. All were… 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 →
We are very excited and honored to announce today a wonderful addition to our VocalEssence team. G. Phillip Shoultz, III will be joining Philip Brunelle as the new full-time Associate Conductor of VocalEssence this July. This is an expanded position with our organization, one that we hope will have far-reaching impact on both VocalEssence and… Read More →
Listen to the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, conducted by Philip Brunelle, performing “Child of Song” by Kim André Arnesen, dedicated to the memory of Stephen Paulus. If you want to hear it live, they will premiere the piece tonight at the American Composers Forum 40th Anniversary Celebration. VocalEssence will also perform “Home” by Libby Larsen. The two… Read More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Older adults are pursuing active lives, and VocalEssence is gladly adding to their options with the launch of VocalEssence Vintage Voices—an exciting choral program that integrates the arts into the everyday lives of older adults by fostering the creation of choirs in assisted living facilities and senior centers. With funding from the Minnesota State Arts… Read More →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otO1BYz_i6o When you attend one of the two VocalEssence Radio Hour concerts this weekend, you are sure to be stirred by something you haven’t experienced before—and treated to some old favorites, too. The first half of the program reaches back to the early days of radio in a tribute to Fred Waring and the music… Read More →
Congratulations to pianist, composer, arranger and producer Sanford Moore, who received the Reatha Clark King Award on Sunday, February 8 at the VocalEssence WITNESS: Let Freedom Ring concert at Orchestra Hall and was presented with a one-of-a-kind work of art created by past WITNESS Teaching Artist Ta-Coumba Aiken. The Reatha Clark King Award for Excellence… Read More →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kud0XlhKIvo The WITNESS: Let Freedom Ring concert on Sunday, February 8, will find Orchestra Hall ringing with uplifting messages of love and peace for all humankind, brought by the Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness, directed by Gary Hines, as they join with the VocalEssence Chorus in paying tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the… Read More →
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 →
If you are wondering what you missed during the first weekend of Welcome Christmas concerts, these two reviews will fill you in and inspire you to attend one of this weekend’s performances. “The highlight of this holiday season’s choral concerts will likely be A Light in the Stable, by English composer Alan Bullard, written expressly… Read More →
