VocalEssence

FAMILY: Voices Calling Concert
2020-05-30 14:00 - 15:15 (America/Chicago) | MN
Our hearts are grieving. We are sad for what is happening to our cities. We commit to do our part to fight injustice and to repair the damage that is happening around us.

Today is the day when we have scheduled our Voices Calling concert. We decided to leave the fate of the concert in the hands of the performers in VocalEssence Singers Of This Age. Below is what they told us when we asked them if they felt up to performing today

“I want to use today’s concert as a platform.”
“I want a chance to speak up and and speak out against injustices and violence.”
“I want to sing songs of healing and hope and also have a chance to help clean up our communities.”

Our concert will happen as planned today. If you are able to join us, please click the “Watch Now” button at 2 PM. We hope the concert will help to heal your heart and soothe your soul in these challenging times. After the concert, our singers plan to pitch in and help clean up our city, along with so many other committed volunteers. Stay safe, Minnesota. Our voices of peace, hope, and love are calling to you.

Description
Cheer on our young stars of VocalEssence Singers Of This Age as they finish their season strong! The online concert will feature live performances, special recognition of graduating seniors, and performance footage from the VocalEssence Singers Of This Age ACDA Regional Concert including an exciting joint performance of “Say Something” with Nation (Tim Takach and Jocelyn Hagen). These talented and charismatic high school singers will delight you with a blend of music that includes everything from classical to hip-hop, and they invite you into a world where music breaks down the walls that divide us.
This event is free to the public and will be available via YouTube.
Performers

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age

Three Things to Know

All ages are welcome at this concert, and it is best enjoyed by children ages eight and up.
This is the third year of the radically diverse youth choir VocalEssence Singers Of This Age that brings together high school students from across the Twin Cities metro area.
VocalEssence Singers Of This Age members not only work with VocalEssence artistic staff, but also with diverse, groundbreaking artists in our community including Emmy award-winning actor T. Mychael Rambo, Verve-winning spoken-word artist/arts educator Niles (Chadwick Phillips), Karen Charles and Threads Dance Company, and NBC’s The Voice contestant, Ashley DuBose.

LIVESTREAM: Lifting Every Voice to Inspire Change
2020-06-21 16:00 - 17:00 | MN
This Father’s Day, gather your family and friends to sing for justice in a livestream with song leaders from coast to coast. Envisioned and created by VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III, this event will be a joy-filled, family friendly celebration with songs that honor fathers and the father figures in all our lives and songs that demand our attention and call us into action.
“As a Black musician in a classical music scene mostly occupied by White people, I was searching for a vocational response to the recent resurgence of a systemic problem–violence against my (Black) people, ” said G. Phillip Shoultz, III. “I created this event in partnership with Black leaders in our community and leaders of our nation’s most prominent singing organizations as a way to honor Black fathers and father figures, celebrate Black families, and stand in solidarity as we demand justice and an end to systemic racism. I want to see 10,000 people singing together this Father’s Day. As a father to two young children, I can think of no better way to spend the day.”
Phillip has engaged rockstar song leaders from each corner of the United States (Melanie DeMore in Oakland, Jason Max Ferdinand in Huntsville, Alysia Lee in Baltimore, and Phillip in Minneapolis). In addition to singing, enjoy extraordinary featured performances from:

The Aeolians of Oakwood University, named the “2017 Choir of the World” in the World Choir Games;

EXIGENCE, a Sphinx professional vocal ensemble highlighting artistry within Black and Latinx communities;
Jovonta Patton, two-time Billboard Gospel chart-topper.

This event is a part of the VocalEssence commitment to advance inclusion, access, and equity. Read more about our commitment and our work online.
Donate to AALF
This event is in partnership with the Minneapolis-based African American Leadership Forum (AALF), a nonprofit comprised of over 1,500 African Americans who volunteer their time, talents and treasure to support our mission to build a just society that works well for everyone. AALF is currently serving as a hub organization that is directing funds designated for Economic Recovery to Black-led organizations for dispersement. Donate here: https://www.givemn.org/organization/African-American-Leadership-Forum
Song Leaders

Melanie DeMore
Jason Max Ferdinand
Alysia Lee
G. Phillip Shoultz, III

Presented by
VocalEssence WITNESS Advisory Council

FAMILY: Imagine
2020-11-28 - 2021-06-30 | VocalEssence On Demand
Im·ag·ine
/iˈmajən/
verb
1.  form a mental image or concept of.
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world.”
—Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist
Discover beauty in diversity, and imagine a world where the spirit of kindness, generosity, and love for our neighbors lives in us all year. Join the VocalEssence Singers Of This Age and conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III as they usher in the season of hope and love through songs, spoken word, and poetry from winter celebrations around the world, including Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Hmong New Year, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas.
Tickets

Tickets are currently available as a single stream or as part of a VocalEssence On Demand 2020-2021 Subscription.
You also have the option to purchase a gift certificate for this stream to give access to someone else.

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Series
This performance is part of a series of four performances by our intentionally diverse youth choir VocalEssence Singers Of This Age. Learn more about the programs by clicking here.
Watch Imagine Preview

FAMILY: Believe
2021-01-17 - 2021-06-30 | VocalEssence On Demand
Be·lieve
/bəˈlēv/
verb
To accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of.
“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.”
—Rev. Jesse Jackson, American Civil Rights Activist
Let freedom ring as members of VocalEssence Singers Of This Age dare you to believe in a world where people are “not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Through solo and group performances, these young musicians will use the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. to help us see how our actions can create a more inclusive world.
Tickets

Tickets are currently available as a single stream or as part of a VocalEssence On Demand 2020-2021 Subscription.
You also have the option to purchase a gift certificate for this stream to give access to someone else.

PLEASE NOTE: When you have completed your order, you will receive an email confirmation with a link to set up your login to VocalEssence On Demand.
Performers

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age
G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Series
This performance is part of a series of four performances by our intentionally diverse youth choir VocalEssence Singers Of This Age. Learn more about the programs by clicking here.

FAMILY: Create
2021-04-17 14:00 - 14:30 | VocalEssence On Demand
Cre·ate
/krēˈāt/
verb
To bring (something) into existence.
“The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.”
—President Barack Obama
Will you be a witness? Join the VocalEssence Singers Of This Age as they journey through American history to trace the power of creative expression to heal, connect people, and make change. Through solo and group performances, be inspired to find your voice and create your own art to shape a world where all dreams can become realities.
Tickets

Tickets are currently available as a single stream or as part of a VocalEssence On Demand 2020-2021 Subscription.
You also have the option to purchase a gift certificate for this stream to give access to someone else.

PLEASE NOTE: When you have completed your order, you will receive an email confirmation with a link to set up your login to VocalEssence On Demand.
Performers

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age
Jayanthi Kyle, vocal activist
Kyle Pederson, composer-in-residence
Erik Yates, guitar
Brian Kendrick, drums
Sam Reeves, keyboards
Corey Cellurale, VESOTA choral assistant
G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Series
This performance is part of a series of four performances by our intentionally diverse youth choir VocalEssence Singers Of This Age. Learn more about the programs by clicking here.

FAMILY: Celebrate
2021-07-01 - 2021-08-15 | VocalEssence On Demand
Cel·e·brate
/ˈseləˌbrāt/
verb
To acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity.
Move your body and raise your voice to celebrate the possibilities of a world where justice reigns supreme and people can live out the fullest expression of their life. Join VocalEssence Singers Of This Age (VESOTA) led by Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III, as well as guest singers, as they perform two world premieres written by Mexican composer Julio Morales, shine a spotlight on the senior members of VESOTA, and give us all a reason to celebrate the day.
Tickets

Tickets are currently available as a single stream.

Performers

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age
G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor
Mary Jo Gothmann, piano
Lindblom Math and Science Academy High School, Chicago, IL,Wade Elkins, director
Glenbard West High School, Glen Ellyn, IL, Andrew Jeffrey, director
Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs, Philip Brown and Beth Egger, directors
ComMUSICation, Carey Shunskis, director
Minnesota Boy Choir, Mark Johnson, director
Minneapolis Youth Chorus, Pat Arasim, director

Concert: United in Song: Teen Song Share
2025-05-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Westwood Lutheran Church, 9001 Cedar Lake Rd, St. Louis Park, MN, 55426, United States
