February 19, 2026
Tonight
A reminder that our rehearsal is at Northrop tonight starting at 6:30pm! Please make sure to arrive in time to park, get into the building, and be on stage in places for the start time. Final riser charts will be dotted around the hall in the audience as usual. It will be based on the last few weeks of riser charts, with SOTA added back in to the mix and some final tweaks as the roster has tightened up.
Arts Advocacy Day
On Tuesday, March 3 Arts Advocacy Day is making its return to the state capitol! Organized annually by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, a fantastic advocacy group doing good work fighting for arts funding and awareness at the state level, this day is a super important day for all of us to show up and make our voices heard to continue advocating for the healthy arts funding that has made it possible for our state to have the world-class arts scene that we have.
I will be there, as will Amy, and I encourage any and all of you that can to take the time to sign-up, attend the rally, and (if you’re comfortable) join meetings with your state legislators. The meetings are in small groups, so you won’t be alone — and MCA does a great job ensuring you’re well equipped with important talking points as a base from which to build upon and add your own personal experiences with the arts. Sign up here!
Pre-Rehearsal Calling/Mailing Parties
We’ll be having another round envelope stuffing/thank you calling parties before rehearsal on Tuesdays March 3 and 10. Come by any time between 5p and 7p for pizza, socializing and volunteer work options for introverts and extroverts alike!
Email Azure (azure@vocalessence.org) to let her know if you can attend. Please include whether you have a preference for envelope stuffing vs thank you calling and any dietary considerations we should keep in mind when ordering dinner!
Final Call for the Potluck!
February 6, 2026
WITNESS Week
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Tuesday, 2/17 we are at PCC for 7-9:30pm rehearsal.
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Thursday, 2/19 is dress rehearsal at Northrop from 6:30-9:30pm
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Saturday, 2/21 is dress rehearsal from 9:30a-12:30pm at Northrop.
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Concert is 4pm on Sunday, 2/22 with a call time for warm-ups on stage at 3pm.
Please also check out the concert program order online under the Music tab on the portal. This order has evolved since its initial inception and is now final as it’s posted here.
Community Sing Tomorrow
For those looking for something this weekend to participate in community with the many actions around our cities, our friends at House of Hope are hosting a Community Sing from the Justice Choir Songbook tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. All are welcome to attend!
Ethan Out
As I write this message, I will be signing off from work for the coming week as I take vacation and some time to rest before we jump into WITNESS. Azure will also be gone until Thursday, so if you have any imminent questions related to rehearsal, I encourage you to contact GPS or your section leader directly with those questions. I will otherwise make sure to respond as soon as I am able upon my return.
January 28, 2026
WITNESS:
You officially have ALL of the music for WITNESS now in your folders and online. If you’re a digital score user, make sure to check the link for a new PDF of “Go Down, Moses” below.
It’s also never too early to encourage your networks to get their tickets for WITNESS! Let’s fill the hall at Northrop as we carry this concert’s message out to our community
French Music
Some of your repertoire for the April 10/11 concerts with Greg Zelek is available now on the ES portal. This matches what was distributed to folders last night for those who have them. Please make sure to take a glance through these before your brief introduction to them at 6:30pm next week. Philip will go over a few of them and set out the plan coming out of WITNESS as you begin the 6-week stretch into that program in March & April!
Roddy Masterclass
January 22, 2026
I am greatly looking forward to hearing this year’s WITNESS program come together in the next month. It feels particularly important this year to be sharing this music and I am glad to be here to and be a part of it.
PCC Doors:
WITNESS:
You have most of the music for WITNESS now in your folders and online. There are just a few more pieces that will get added in the coming week, including our commissions of new arrangements from B.E. Boykin! I’ll send a note to everyone once those are available online and in your folders, but expect that they will be there before next Tuesday night. It’s also never too early to encourage your networks to get their tickets for WITNESS! Let’s fill the hall at Northrop as we carry this concert’s message out to our community.
Happy Hour with BE Boykin
We are excited to share that we are going to host a happy hour with our featured commissioned composer, Dr. Brittney (B.E.) Boykin! Her opera, My Name is Florence, is being premiered by Minnesota Opera next week and she will be in town for final rehearsals and the premiere — and we are grateful to have a chance to offer the opportunity to spend some time and get to know her before we sing her newly composed spiritual arrangements next month!
Join us for some spectacular appetizers from Soul Bowl, updates on this year’s WITNESS school program, and conversation with B.E. about her life as a conductor, composer, and educator. The Happy Hour will take place next Thursday, January 29 from 5:00-6:30 pm at Plymouth Congregational Church.
Attendance is free but we ask folks to please RSVP here if you are available to attend so that we have an accurate count for food.
Feeding Our Souls Event:
How to Hold On Vinyls:
Winter Party @ the Brunelles!
January 7, 2026
Retreat:
Concert Week:
December 17, 2025
I hope you are all having a good week! A few announcements for you as we go into the end of 2025!
Welcome Christmas on MPR
John Rutter
Welcome Christmas Feedback
Aaaannd that’s a wrap on 2025! Thanks to each and every one of you for your time and musical talents these past 12 months. It continues to be a joy and a privilege to work for all of you to help bring your music to life and I look forward to the musical adventures that 2026 brings! Wishing all of you a marvelous rest of the holiday season and a very happy new year.
–Ethan
December 10, 2025
Well, happy Wednesday everyone! Hopefully you’re dug out from that surprisingly strong storm. Please read on for lots of details about Welcome Christmas tomorrow night and Saturday!
Parking & Arrival
Call Times & Rehearsal Order:
Attire
Our attire will be our usual concert black, but as in past years, we would like to add a little pizzazz to the stage. Unlike past years, this year we would like to focus on adding some blue accents to the stage, specifically. If you have a blue accent (scarf, tie, bowtie, shawl, or other accessory), we’d love to have you wear it this Saturday! Tasteful headwear (bows, etc.) is OK as long as it is not too tall, but no hats, please. If you have some sort of blue jewelry, our usual rules apply: nothing that would shine/reflect the stage lights and nothing that will jangle/make any noise. Please make sure you’re bringing something that is truly blue and not teal/blue-green—but it can be any shade of blue, light or dark blue are all OK. We will have some of our extra scarves that we’ve used in the past that fit this and we’ll show one off tomorrow night. We had hoped to do so last night, but nature intervened! And, just to explicit, you’re not required to wear any blue accents.
SST & Rehearsal
Weather related closures are covered by Sick & Safe Time. Because this is a benefit that you have that is yours to choose to use, we do need any of you who would like to use your SST for last night’s weather-related cancellation to submit that request in writing, preferably by submitting the attendance form so that we can continue to keep all our records in one place.
A handful of you already submitted forms last night, and if you did so and selected “Yes” on the SST question, you do not need to resubmit.
The deadline for submitting this so that it is properly processed on payroll for the month is the beginning of the day on Thursday, 12/18. If you do not want to use your SST for last night, no action is required on your part.
December 3, 2025
Concert Week
Somehow, next week is already concert week!
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Tuesday (12/9), we are still at PCC for a normal rehearsal. 6:30-9:30pm for you all.
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Thursday (12/11) is our first dress rehearsal at Northrop Auditorium! Remember that your call time is 7:00-9:30pm that night.
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Saturday (12/13), call time is 12:00pm sharp for a program run-through in-order. We’ll finish up by 2:30pm, take a breather, and then show time is at 4:00p!
Please remember to leave time for parking at Northrop and getting in the building — perhaps use the WhatsApp to arrange carpools if you’d like! Each venue has its challenges, and we know that it takes just a bit of extra time to get in the building when we’re at Northrop, so we appreciate everyone making sure that we plan accordingly to start on time! I will send some more detailed reminders on transportation & parking options next week, but if you’d like to read up you can do so here.
Welcome Christmas Tickets
Music
Live from London
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A VocalEssence single concert ticket for $19 for access to just our concert
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Season Ticket Standard for $110 which includes 8 of the 10 concerts in the festival
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Season Ticket Extra for $135 includes all 10 concerts on the festival lineup
November 26, 2025
Vinterfest Quartet
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Elsa Buck
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Kristina Rodel Sorum
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Andy McCullough
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Ian Witry
Singer Calling Party!
November 19, 2025
Thank you everyone for the MANY ways that you have helped support VocalEssence the last weeks. Thank you for your support in the singer giving campaign, helping us reach 78% participation! Thank you for joining our singer calling party last night helping to make 201 phone calls to supporters, including other singers like you!
Envelope Stuffing Party!
If you love these little Tuesday night gatherings and free food, we’ll have another opportunity with an envelope stuffing and calling party on Tuesday, December 2nd before rehearsal, starting at 5:30p! Something for extroverts and introverts! Amy or Azure will send more information on this soon including how to RSVP.
MORA:
- Elsa Buck
- Kathryn Rupp
- Robin Helgen
- Anna Meek
- Judith Melander
- Jared Campbell
- Jonah Herzog
- Phil Reilly
- Joe Ellickson
- David Gindra
- Mike Schmidt
- Casey Rafn
Give to the Max Day!
Finally, this Thursday is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota! We would so appreciate your help in spreading the word about this day and the ways in which people can support VocalEssence and the impact that that support has for our organization. You may have seen that Amy on Monday sent out a Singer Toolkit for Give to the Max day yesterday. It’s also linked here. As we often say, you are some of the best advocates for our organization that we could ask for, because you know firsthand the impact that this support has. Thank you in advance for spreading the good word and being an ambassador for VocalEssence!
November 12, 2025
Concert Day
Singer Calling Party
Welcome Christmas Dress Rehearsal Call Time
October 15, 2025
Concert Week Schedule & Reminders :
- Next week Tuesday & Thurs everyone called at 7pm at Ted Mann! Make sure you do not go to PCC! Please be on time and ready to line up at 7pm. Come ready to sing as well — we will not have warm-ups on Tuesday or Thurdsay.
- When you arrive on Tuesday and Thursday enter the stage door and then go right into the hall. We will have directional arrows up.
- We will rehearse Sarojini first both nights
- Then we will take a break. On Tuesday night the ES will then rehearse on stage and the Chorus will rehearse in one of the rehearsal rooms in the school of music
- On Thursday it will be the reverse.
- We will send a seating riser chart out in the coming few days so you know your formation. We will be in five rows behind the orchestra.
- You do not need to wear concert attire at the rehearsals but do come dressed on concert day!
- Call time is 3pm on Saturday for warm-ups.
Parking:
Attached you will find a map of the west bank campus of the U of M. circled are the three lots nearest to Ted Mann. The lot in red is the 21st Ave ramp. The two in yellow are Lot #94 and the 19th Ave ramp. You are able to park wherever you can in these lots on Tuesday and Thursday. On Saturday however, we ask that you please avoid parking in the 21st Ave Ramp if you can afford to walk a bit further, to allow that ramp to be used by our patrons.
(I will also add that Saturday the 21st Ave and Lot #94 will be event rate parking, whereas as of right now the 19th Ave ramp should not be.)
Annunciation Memorial/Benefit Concert
Thanks to all those who signed up as available for the Annunciation Concert on October 30th. The roster for the concert is as follows:
Sopranos:
Chloe Johnson
JoAnna Johnson
Kathryn Rupp
Altos:
Robin Helgen
Anna Meek
Carolyn Nuelle
Tenors:
Jared Campbell
Eli Gatlin-Baumgartner
Andy McCullough
Basses:
David Gindra
Joe Kastner
Erik Krohg
I will send an important follow up to you all with some notes about this event.
Roddy Masterclass!
Thanks also to everyone who signed up as interested. We had 10 folks sign-up as wanting to do a masterclass, which means we will be able to accommodate all of you for the date on November 15th. Those folks were:
- Kristina Rodel Sorum
- Katie Boardman
- Joe Kastner
- Erik Krohg
- Chloe Johnson
- Ben Brunnette
- JoAnna Johnson
- Ian Witry
- Patty Kramer
- Kathryn Rupp
I will follow up with that group in a note directly with some next steps and more information. We welcome the rest of you to come during the masterclasses that day to listen as a small audience for your fellow singers! Once we have the schedule finished, we’ll share that with the full group in November — but the general time frame will be 9a-3:30pm.
How to Hold On CDs and more!
If you are still interested (or know someone who would be interested!) in purchasing a physical CD of How to Hold On our new album with Melanie DeMore, you can purchase these to have shipped on our Bandcamp page here, at the concert next week (or future concerts!), and at rehearsals once we’re back at Plymouth in two weeks. AND, I’m happy to say that we’ll be announcing pre-sales for a special vinyl edition… more to come very soon on that!
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Thanks again to everyone who came early to help Amy stuff envelopes — we really appreciate the extra hands on a big project like that! As always, all of these announcements are on the singer portal and the archive is available too. We’ll see you all next week at Ted Mann Concert Hall!
Finally, I will leave you all with this wonderful message from Melanie. She felt very moved to share a short message with all of you as she reflects on the work together on How to Hold On and your time together. You can listen to her note here.
October 3, 2025
Sarojini Notes
- There are two important sets of notes below regarding Sarojini. The first is a set of musical notes from Philip and Shruthi that you received earlier this week. If you haven’t already, please read through these carefully and make sure your scores are marked accordingly as necessary.
- The second set of notes is a series of short paragraphs about each of the movements.
- Finally, Shruthi has kindly prepared this introductory video breaking down the work here! Not required listening, but very informative, and you can really get to see her passion about this subject and piece through this recording.
Rehearsal Notes on Sarojini – PLEASE READ
Mvmt 1
- Shruthi said that the opening “Sarojini” measures for the sopranos should be like clarion calls.
- Also, mark the tenuti, in m.27 and onward.
- Be careful throughout the piece to have crisp cutoffs. (like m.68 to put n on the third beat and similar places throughout)
- Bass: m.73 and on – long quarters.
- All: M.85 soft contrast
- Soprano II – m.100 – very soloistic…tell the story!
- Alto/Tenor: m.122 – ‘spirit’ = quarter notes
- S/A- Check pitches m.147-156
Mvmt 2
- S – 2nd measure –‘t’ on beat 2. Same in m.4 and m.6. M. 8 – ‘d’ on beat 2
- All – m. 9 – ‘z’ of ‘hands’ on beat 2, 2nd half.
- All – m.12 – Lift on beat 2
- All – m.21 – put ‘n’ on beat 4
- All – m.24 – ‘ft’ on beat 2
- Soprano – ck notes m.50-52
- Soprano – put ‘st’ on downbeat of m.53
- A/T – m.54-put ‘ng’ on beat 4. M.55 put ‘ng’ on beat 2. Etc.
- All – m.63 – put ‘ng’ on beat 3.
- S/A – m.72 – put L on ‘pale’ on 2&
- All – from F – mark the accelerandos
- Soprano 1 – mark diminuendo in m.138
Mvmt 3
- Remember to separate heart/we (m.2 and on). The opening should feel funereal.
- Alto/Tenor – m.13 – mark the subito p
- From m.33 emphasize ‘soon’ and ‘rise’
- Alto – from m.33 check the changes from F-natural and F-flat
- Soprano – from m.40 check the pitch on A-natural
- Soprano & Tenor 1 – check rhythm in m.52 and 54
- S/A – m.80 put ‘m’ on the downbeat. And note the subito p at m.93.
- Soprano 2 – stronger from m.102
- All – m.116 put ‘ng’ on the downbeat
- Sopranos – m.165 and 173 – lift after ‘awake’
- S/A – m.208 break before “Go”
Mvmt 4
- All – m.21 – ‘prayer’ is one syllable = ‘prayr’
- All – from m.23 practice speaking this text up to m.45. It needs to be very clear to the audience.
- All – from m.98 it gets faster and faster – please note. At m.102 I conduct in 2.
Mvmt 5
- T/B – from m.25 note all the tenuti for text emphasis. M.34 put ‘t’ on 4th beat.
- All – from m.52 the important words are ‘gather’ and ‘dreams’
Program Notes on Sarojini by Movement
Movement I: Kalaakaar – The Artist
The opening movement explores Sarojini Naidu’s early years, whose poetry became the seed of her activist vision. Shaped by the turbulence of Colonial India, her voice became the foundation for a vision of art and activism that would inspire her lifelong work for justice and freedom.
Movement II: The Gift of India
This movement turns to the turbulent years of Colonial India, recalling the 1857 rebellion, the partition of Bengal in 1905, and the tragic Amritsar massacre of 1919. Out of this suffering rose a collective call for independence, as voices across the land demanded the right to self-rule.
Movement III: The Real Nation-Builders
Women played a central role in sustaining the movement, from producing goods for boycotts to leading protests and strikes. Their strength is personified here as Goddess Lakshmi, symbol of compassion and well-being, embodying the resilience and sacrifice of the women who carried the struggle forward.
Movement IV: Swaraj – Independence
Sarojini’s dream of a free India was also a dream of unity, embracing the plural voices and traditions of South Asia. This movement weaves in the beloved patriotic song Sare Jahan Se Accha, echoing a shared longing for independence and honoring the cultural legacies that carried that dream forward.
Movement V: The Dreams That Remain
The work concludes with Sarojini’s final reflections, spoken just months before India’s independence. Though she mourned the divisions of her time, she never abandoned her faith in “the hope of tomorrow”—a reminder that her unfinished dream is now ours to carry forward.
Sarojini Playlist:
As I have tried to do recently, I’ve put together a playlist of the music that is previously recorded for this concert for you to hear other works you may not be performing, including the feature that will open the program by the MSO, Gustav Holst’s Indra. That playlist can be found here. You can find Jayjaykar on our Soundcloud here, and She Will Transform You, by Reena Esmail, is only available on Spotify.
Annunciation Remembrance Concert:
We have been contacted by the Music Director at Annunciation about partaking in an upcoming performance at the Cathedral of Saint Paul on Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 7pm and are putting together a plan for a short set that we will share at that event, along with Cantus, the Singers, and members of the SPCO and MN Orchestra, as we currently understand it. We would like to gather all of your availability for such a performance to determine a roster for the event. We do not yet know a call time for any possible pre-performance rehearsal. We will likely do 4 short pieces — about 15 minutes of music. We do not know if there will be any combined piece(s) on the program.
Please fill out your availability for this performance here by Monday, October 13th. We will determine a small group roster (likely 12 singers, is what we are currently expecting, but this could change) based on whom is available as soon as I return and we can look through the responses from you.
Roddy Masterclass
As mentioned on Tuesday evening, we are planning for time with Roddy on Saturday, November 15 between 9a-3:30p. The exact length of time will be set as we gather your interest and availability based on this date and window. Please complete this interest form here by Wednesday, October 15th to register your interest and availability. If the number of interested singers exceeds our capacity that day, we will introduce randomization into the selection process to ensure fair selection for the opportunity.
September 17, 2025
Tuesday Night Snacks
MPR Album Release Event:
Sound Baths:
September 12, 2025
Retreat
A reminder that our fall retreat is TOMORROW, Saturday, September 13 at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church! You are all called at 9:00a. The main change is that we will have you go straight to the choir room to warm-up and start rehearsal, and will then break to take your photo and change out of concert attire at 10a or a little after. Please still arrive in concert attire!
We will have lunch for you at noon, which is the last thing on the schedule for you all that day — done by 1p!
How to Hold On Album Release and Events:
Two weeks from today, How to Hold On: Songs of Comfort and Solace will be released! Attached you will find the full cover design of the physical album.
We’ve set the rosters for the primary 3 events that we announced to all of you on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Those rosters are below. Registration for these events is free and will be live soon. Because of the limited nature of these events we will be sending these out directly to groups for registration, and you will receive information to pass on to family and close friends if they would like to attend.
We are also trying to organize a fourth event that is targeted at inviting WITNESS teachers, SOTA students, and some others for a Sound Bath at 1p on Saturday, 9/27, a couple of hours after the first one. I will be reaching by section to groups of you who were available on Saturday to ask about your availability to do the Saturday afternoon event.
Album Availability:
On September 26th, the album will be available to stream on all major streaming platforms and for digital purchase. I am holding out the slimmest of hopes that there is a chance physical CDs will be delivered to us by the 26th so that they are available on Friday and Saturday. There was unfortunately a miscommunication from the media company on what their expected print timeline would be once they had the files from us, so it’s a bit up in the air right now. We will be gifting all of you with a physical CD and they will otherwise be available for pre/order for $15 for the physical CD for family and friends who would like to have one!
ES Release Party:
I would very much like to have us gather together before Melanie arrives to share in a moment to celebrate this recording project and have you hear the finished recording before it launches publicly. I’ve shared a little poll in the WhatsApp group chat regarding two possible dates for a listening party next week/weekend: Thursday, September 18 and Sunday, September 21. Take a look at that and let us know which night you might be available to join me and Philip for some pizza and time together! Location is pending based on what date(s) we decide to move forward with!
September 3, 2025
Retreat
A reminder that our fall retreat is in a week and a half on Saturday, September 13 at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church! You are all called at 9:00a and we will begin with our ES photo! We ask that you please arrive on time so that you are ready for the photo right away at 9:00a! We will need to be efficient with our photo so that we can begin the Chorus photo on time following yours.
We will have lunch for you at noon, which is the last thing on the schedule for you all that day — done by 1p! If you have a conflict with this date, please make sure to submit the attendance form right away so we have an accurate lunch count.
Preparation Files:
Further down this page in the Music section you will be able to find study resources for scores (we have files up for Sarojini with more study resources to come) as well as rehearsal recordings for each week. The rehearsal recordings can be accessed using the button below!
Rehearsal Notes:
Last night, Philip ran quickly through his score edits, so we want to make sure that everyone has them here in writing to ensure you caught everything and for those who were not with us. Those score notes are below:
- Mvmt III, M.21. tenor 1, ‘soon’ not ‘mm’
- Mvmt III, M.48. alto 1, first word should be ‘rise’
- Mvmt III, m.80. tenor 1, change to ‘O’ (not ‘mm’)
- Mvmt III, m.93. alto 1, add ‘heart’ – like alto 2
- Mvmt IV, m.21. all, ‘prayer’ is sung as one syllable
- Mvmt IV, m.37. ‘patriotism’ is a 4-syllable word. Make it 4 8th notes with the last tied to the quarter following
- Mvmt IV, m.97. everyone sing the pickup ‘our’ on E (tenor on E4)
- Mvmt IV, m.158. All sopranos on S1, all altos on S2 to the end of the movement. Bass II join bass I from m.169. Bass II tacet from middle of m187 to prepare for low E.
- Mvmt V, m.17-19. Tenor 2 sing upper E. Basses do a 3-way split on E F G.
Next Rehearsal:
We’ll see you again next week on Tuesday night starting at 6:30p!