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 →
The VocalEssence WITNESS School Program offers partner schools the opportunity for students to interact with one of our WITNESS Teaching Artists, who explore the yearly program theme through their artistic discipline. Teaching Artists create an integrative academic experience for students combining the study of African American culture with art, music, social studies, literature, character building… 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 →
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 →
Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters have been selected to have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship through VocalEssence ReMix as they each write a choral work. Each has been paired with a Composer Mentor, and on Saturday, June 6, they will gather for a One-Day Summer Workshop where they will meet with VocalEssence Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle, their… 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 →
This year, 49 partner schools are participating in the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program, which began with the annual Teacher Orientation Seminar in September and continues through workshops and residencies with our Teaching Artists. The theme, “Let Freedom Ring,” focused on the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his lifelong promotion of racial equality through… Read More →
VocalEssence has won an Arts Learning grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to expand our ¡Cantaré! program to Rochester, Minnesota. This means that several schools and community choirs in Rochester will have three-week residencies with Mexican composers Rodrigo Cadet and Novelli Jurado, and will host a Community Concert with VocalEssence. Rodrigo will be working with… Read More →
The VocalEssence Education staff led the annual WITNESS Teacher Orientation Seminar on Saturday, September 27, 2014. This was a wonderful opportunity for teachers in our partner schools to learn all they need to know about their school’s participation in the WITNESS School Program. Teachers who attended received copies of the 2014 WITNESS Teacher Resource Guide and… Read More →
