VocalEssence

VocalEssence
  • Who We Are
    • About VocalEssence
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Staff
    • Collaborators
    • Board of Directors
      • VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Advisory Council
      • VocalEssence WITNESS Advisory Council
    • Advancing Inclusion, Access, and Equity
  • What We Do
    • Why Sing?
    • Concerts and Events
    • Celebrating Black Excellence
    • Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle
    • Learning and Engagement Programs
    • Contests and Awards
    • Commissioning and Recording
    • Accessibility
  • Stories & Results
    • #vesotashareshope
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • GPS & Friends
    • Inclusion Access and Equity
    • Musical Moments
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Schools & Education
    • Take 5 with GPS
    • Together We Sing
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
      • Bridge to the Future Campaign
    • Engage a Choir
    • Sing with Us
    • Join the Board
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Login
  • On Demand
  • Buy Tickets
  • Donate
Search
More...

M. Searle Wright | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

February 5, 2021

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • email

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer M. Searle Wright.

M. Searle Wright

1918-2004

Searle Wright is an American composer and organist known for his works that church choirs in North America have been singing for more than half a century. At a young age, he discovered theater organs and earned money as a teenager on weekends by playing Strauss waltzes and transcriptions of organ music on the Wurlitzer at the Capitol Theater in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania before the start of the movie. Wright went to New York City to study classical organ with T. Tertius Noble, the organist and master of choristers at St. Thomas Church, and later attended Columbia University where he studied composition. He perfected his improvisation techniques at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary and began teaching students there in 1947. Mr. Wright served as director of chapel music at St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University from 1952 to 1971 and president of the American Guild of Organists from 1969 to 1971. His organ and choral compositions include ”Brother James’ Air” and ”Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue” for organ and ”The Green Blade Riseth,” a choral symphony on the theme of the Resurrection in four movements composed in 1950.  

Suggested Choral Pieces: 

  1. Communion Service in G minor (M. Witmark & Sons) 
  2. Prayer of St. Francis (M. Witmark & Sons) 
  3. The Green Blade Riseth (M. Witmark & Sons) 
Posted in: Musical Moments
Tags: Composers of the Late 20th-21st Century • United States Composers

Recent Stories

  • VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Perform at WCCO Holiday Tree Lighting December 22, 2022
  • VocalEssence Holiday Programming 2022 December 15, 2022
  • Thank you for your support at the VocalEssence 2022 Gala! November 4, 2022
  • VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Joined Twin Cities Choirs for Reconcile  November 4, 2022
  • VocalEssence Announces New Mission, Vision, and Values Statements November 4, 2022

Musical Moments

  • #inspiration
  • 2020
  • Argentinan Composers
  • Australian Composers
  • Basque Composers
  • Black Composers
  • Bradley Greenwald
  • British Composers
  • Canadian Composers
  • choir
  • Clara Osowski
  • Composers from Minnesota
  • Composers of the 17th 18th and 19th Centuries
  • Composers of the Early-Mid 20th Century
  • Composers of the Late 20th-21st Century
  • composing
  • concerts
  • Czech Composers
  • Dan Dressen
  • Dutch Composers
  • Early-mid 20th Century
  • Eastern European Composers
  • French Composers
  • German and Austrian Composers
  • Hungarian Composers
  • Italian Composers
  • Late 20th-21st Century
  • Latin American Composers
  • Maria Jette
  • Mexican composers
  • planning
  • Portuguese Composers
  • repertoire
  • Russian Composers
  • Scandinavian Composers
  • Scottish Composers
  • South American Composers
  • Spanish Composers
  • Swiss Composers
  • United States Composers
  • Women Composers
  • About Us
    • About VocalEssence
    • Press Room
    • Annual Report
    • Financial Information
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • VocalEssence COVID Protocols
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sing with Us
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Connect
    • Email Sign Up
    • Contact Us/Location
    • Chorus Connection
    • VocalEssence Board Login
  • VocalEssence
  • 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403
  • Phone: 612-547-1451
  • Fax: 612-547-1484
  • info@vocalessence.org
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 VocalEssence. All rights reserved.

https://www.vocalessence.org/m-searle-wright-musical-moments-with-philip-brunelle

This website uses cookies for necessary functions and to enhance your browsing experience.

Accept & Continue