FEATURING:
VocalEssence Chorus
Casey Rafn, collaborative artist
G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor
Artist Statement
Welcome to Mending the Sky, an exploration of percussive sounds—instrumental and vocal—from different eras, genres, and cultures that invite us to be fully present as we experience life in all its transformations.
The goddess Nuwa plays an important role in Chinese mythology. In the creation story of Chinese folk religion, she is the creator of all humankind. She is goddess of nature, fertility, order, and marriage. A giant crack appeared in the sky after a powerful event leading to catastrophic flooding, chaos, and devastation. Nuwa felt a deep sense of responsibility to protect her creations and melted five colored stones to mend the sky. Her efforts brought order back to the world, allowing humanity to live in peace again.
The inspiration for this concert is grounded in my belief that each of us, like Nuwa, can be participants in the process of bringing restoration and reconciliation to our world. We can stitch together seemingly disparate scraps into tapestries of kindness, compassion, respect, and curiosity. We can honor the things that make us unique and come together to celebrate our collective efforts to renew communities of hope and joy.
To realize this vision of the Peaceable Kingdom, we must first be willing to look within. Life is not linear and requires us to make our way through seasons, situations, and circumstances that are often outside our control. The degree to which we can successfully navigate life’s obstacles often correlates with our ability to ground ourselves in who we are, what we value, and how we show up for others.
For many, taking a step back from the hustle and bustle of our daily activities out into the natural world allows us to more clearly connect with our whole selves. It invites us to be fully present in the here and now, to trust our senses, and be grateful that all we need is truly under our feet.
Mental Health Awareness month has been observed in May since 1949 here in the United States. Unfortunately, for much of that time, the stigma attached to mental health has kept far too many people from having honest conversations about the fact that every person has a relationship with mental wellness.
My hope is that Mending the Sky can be the balm that invites us to contemplate how we care for ourselves and encourage one another. It is so important that we support and affirm every person taking the space needed for care and love of self.
—G. Phillip Shoultz, III Associate Artistic Director, VocalEssence
PROGRAM
GATHERING
Ambe (Come In)
Andrew Balfour
AWAKENING
Light of a Clear Blue Morning
arr. Craig Hella Johnson
AnnaLisa Anderson, Elinor Jones, soprano soloists; Karrin Meffert-Nelson, clarinet
FORTUNE AND THE MATERIAL WORLD
Fortuna imperatrix mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World) from Carmina Burana Carl Orff
1. O Fortuna (O Fortune)
2. Fortuna Plango Vulnera (I Lament the Wounds of Fortune)
Bob Adney and Jeff Bina, percussion; Thomas Mondry and Casey Rafn, piano
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS
Poemas de Amor (Love Poems) Stephen Paulus I. Soñaba (I Was Dreaming)
II. De Tu Cama a la Mía (From Your Bed to Mine)
III. Pasas por mi Calle (You Pass Down my Street
IV. Si lo Dicen, Digan (If They Say It, Let Them)
V. Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand)
Jessica Belt, soprano; Bob Adney and Jeff Bina, percussion
LOSS AND GRIEF
How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place from Requiem
Johannes Brahms
RE-AWAKENING
Light of a Clear Blue Morning
arr. Craig Hella Johnson
Corey Cellurale, Elinor Jones, soprano soloists; AnnaLisa Anderson, Katelyn Belden, Lillian Gray, Jillian Paulson, Emily D. Seifers, Alyssa Shapiro, Dana Terres, ensemble; Karrin Meffert-Nelson, clarinet
Audience invited to sing when directed: I can see the light of a clear blue morning.
IDENTITY, BELONGING—HOME
She Will Transform You
Reena Esmail
Inna Staneva, flute
US Premiere
America Will Be!
Joel Thompson
Kate Brinkert, Maria Coughlan, Emma Jirele Sandhurst, soloists
RETREAT INTO THE NATURAL WORLD
Soft Blink of Amber Light
Jocelyn Hagen Inna Staneva, flute; Karrin Meffert-Nelson, clarinet; Bob Adney, marimba; Jeff Bina, percussion
TRANSFORMATION
We Can Mend the Sky
Jake Runestad
Azure Anderson, Christina Pederson, Dannika Wright, Kurtis Parlin, Ryan Coopergard, soloists; Bob Adney and Jeff Bina, percussion
Audience invited to sing when directed: If we come together, we can mend the crack in the sky.
GRATITUDE
Underneath My Feet
Jennifer Lucy Cook
Bob Adney, marimba
Program Notes
We are invited into community through the steady heartbeat of Mother Earth and the love, wisdom, and strength represented by the powerful totem of the eagle in Ambe. An original song inspired by the one gifted to the composer by traditional Ojibway drummer and singer Corey Campbell, Ambe is a “call to the people to the ceremonial way of life because everything happens with spirit and in spirit.”
Written and originally performed by Dolly Parton, Light of a Clear Blue Morning, acknowledges the rough places along life’s journey with an eye towards what is yet to come. The song encourages us to see a future filled with possibilities in the dawning of a new day.
Relationships with people, places, and material things are at the core of life’s adventures. Fortuna imperatrix mundifrom Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana evokes the rollercoaster of emotions that come from our reliance on the trappings of the modern world. We experience the multi-faceted dimensions of love in Poemas de Amor by Stephen Paulus and move through stages of grief and loss in How Lovely is thy Dwelling Place from Johannes Brahms’ Requiem. Together, these two works guide us into a place of deep peace and gratitude for the time we’ve shared with those near and dear to us.
A second opportunity to consider the possibility of a better day ahead leads us to consider our relationship to Home and how it shapes our identity and sense of belonging. The text for She Will Transform You by Reena Esmail comes from Homeland by the Indian American poet Neelanjana Banerjee and is a mother’s contemplation of the conflict between her native or adopted cultures and her wish that her child can bridge that divide. Reena says the following, “As a child of immigrants, I have felt both that distance—of being the ‘other’ in both America and India—and also the resonance of being at home wherever I am.”
In America Will Be!we face the fact that racism, xenophobia, and othering has caused a friction between our professed ideals and the painful reality that this country has not lived up to its promises. Using poetry from Langston Hughes, words from Emma Lazarus, and expressions of teenage immigrants representing eleven different cultural traditions, Joel Thompson helps us cling to the hope that we will one day achieve the dream of a country where all can find home, flourish, and thrive.
Jocelyn Hagen takes the title Soft Blink of Amber Light from the final line of text in Julia Klatt Singer’s poem how to live in the modern world where we are encouraged to take a “personal retreat into the natural world” to “escape from the harsh realities of life.”
This time spent embracing the sights, smells, and sounds of nature can be restorative and provides the catalyst for transformation as seen in the powerful words of a 14-year-old, Warda Mohamed. Her words became the backbone for We Can Mend the Sky, where Jake Runestad creates a musical depiction of one’s journey as an immigrant. It is an affirmation of hope as we embrace the diversity of life all around us.
Jennifer Lucy Cook reminds us that we everything we need comes from the earth. In Underneath My Feet we recount the ways in which the earth contains the wealth, power, and safety we pursue. We marvel at the ways the earth provides not only for our physical needs, but our emotional and spiritual ones as well. With this comes great gratitude and the intention to be good stewards of the earth and all creation.
—compiled and written by GPS III
Texts
AMBE (COME IN) Andrew Balfour
Sung in Ojibwe
Come in two-legged beings
come in all people
There is good life here
Come in! —Cory Campbell
LIGHT OF A CLEAR BLUE MORNING arr. Craig Hella Johnson
It’s been a long dark night
And I’ve been a waitin’ for the morning
It’s been a long hard fight
But I see a brand new day of dawning
I’ve been looking for the sunshine
You know I ain’t seen it in so long
But everything’s gonna work out just fine
And everything’s gonna be all right
That’s been all wrong
‘Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning!
I can see the light of a brand new day!
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
Oh, and everything’s gonna be all right
It’s gonna be okay
It’s been a long long time
Since I’ve known the taste of freedom
And those clinging vines
That had me bound, well I don’t need ‘em
Oh, I’ve been like a captured eagle,
you know an eagle’s born to fly
Now that I have won my freedom,
like an eagle I am eager for the sky
And I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a brand new day
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
Ooh, everything’s gonna be all right
Everything’s gonna be all right
Everything’s gonna be all right
It’s gonna be okay —Dolly Parton
FORTUNA IMPERATRIX MUNDI (FORTUNE, EMPRESS OF THE WORLD) FROM CARMINA BURANA Carl Orff
Sung in Latin
1. O Fortuna (O Fortune)
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and ever waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power,
it melts then like ice.
Fate, monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel
you are malevolent,
your favor is idle
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed,
and veiled,
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bare my back
for the sport
of your wickedness.
In prosperity
or in virtue
fate is against me,
both in passion
and in weakness
fate always enslaves us.
So at this hour
pluck the vibrating strings;
because fate
brings down even the strong,
everyone weep with me! —Anonymous
2. Fortuna Plango Vulnera (I Lament the Wounds of Fortune)
I lament the wounds of Fortune
with weeping eyes,
for the gifts she made me
she perversely takes away.
It is written in truth,
that she has a fine head of hair,
but, when it comes to seizing an opportunity
she is bald.
On Fortune’s throne
I used to sit raised up,
crowned with
the many-colored flowers of prosperity;
though I may have flourished
now I fall from the peak
deprived of glory.
The wheel of Fortune turns;
I go down, demeaned;
another is raised up;
far too high up
sits the king at the summit—
let him fear ruin!
for under the wheel’s axle we read,
“Hecuba, the Queen.” —Anonymous
POEMAS DE AMOR (LOVE POEMS) Stephen Paulus
Sung in Spanish
I. Soñaba (I Was Dreaming)
I dreamt
that my heart was happy,
but my faith, Mother,
dreams are just dreams.
II. De Tu Cama a la Mía (From Your Bed to Mine)
There’s a boat saling
from your bed to mine;
take a chance and come over,
my sunburnt lover.
III. Pasas por mi Calle (You Pass Down my Street)
You pass down my street
but won’t look my way;
you must have
a heart of steel.
IV. Si lo Dicen, Digan (If They Say It, Let Them)
If they say it, let them, dear soul,
if they say it, let them.
They say I love you
to death;
true enough, dear soul,
if they say it, let them.
V. Mano a Mano (Hand In Hand)
Hand in hand the two lovers,
hand in hand.
The young man and his girl,
they turn the water to light,
hand in hand. —Anonymous 16th Century Spanish, translated by Alvaro Cardona Hine
HOW LOVELY IS THY DWELLING PLACE FROM REQUIEM Johannes Brahms
How lovely is thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
For my soul, it longeth,
yea fainteth for the courts of the Lord.
My soul and body crieth out,
yea, for the living God.
Blest are they that dwell within Thy house,
they praise thy name ever more. —Psalm 84: 1, 2, 4
SHE WILL TRANSFORM YOU Reena Esmail
Homeland: why do you elude me, tease me?
There, my ancestors don’t know me.
Here my neighbors say ‘go back home’ to me.
When will you let me name you, claim you?
But now, it is no longer about me—
for this newborn child, I have a plea:
Homeland, let this sweet child be,
never torture her like you’ve done [to] me.
Let her always find her way—surface streets and highways,
underpasses and bikepaths, and she will transform you
from concept to community, from skid row to safe haven.
With each milestone, let her dismantle your distance,
until one day, she arrives here
—palm tree shadow, desert dust in her eyes—
and smiles, and knows, she’s home. —Neelanjana Banerjee
AMERICA WILL BE! Joel Thompson
Who are you that mumbles in the dark
and who are you that draws your veils across the stars?
I’m the one who dreamt a dream while still a serf of kings
A dream so strong, so brave, so true that even yet it sings.
For all the songs we’ve sung,
and all the dreams we’ve dreamed,
America was never America to me,
and yet I swear: America will be! —Adapted from Langston Hughes’ Let America Be America Again
Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
give me the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these to me!
I lift my lamp beside the golden door! —Adapted from Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus
SOFT BLINK OF AMBER LIGHT Jocelyn Hagen
forget about streets with names
follow the fireflies into
the thicket, smell the damp earth
let the darkness inside
let the night steep
let the world drift off to sleep
as you become nothing
but the brush of wings, ancient
mating dreams, the soft
blink of amber light. —Julia Klatt Singer, published as “how to live in the modern world”
WE CAN MEND THE SKY Jake Runestad
In my dream I saw
a world free of
violence
hunger
suffering
a world
filled with
love
Now awake in this world
I beg, let my dream come true.
Soo baxa.
(Let’s go.)
Naftu orod bay kugu aamintaa.
(To save your life, run with all your might.)
If we come together, we can mend a crack in the sky. —Warda Mohamed, Let my Dream Come True
UNDERNEATH MY FEET Jennifer Lucy Cook
All I need
All I need
All I need
is underneath my feet
All the wealth is in the flower bed
There is power in the waterfall
And the safety’s in the mountain
For a runaway like me
All I need
All I need
All I need
is underneath my feet
For the rock is my linoleum
And my icebox is the riverbed
And my ceiling is the canopy
Of a lonely sycamore
All I need
All I need
All I need
is underneath my feet
Wind will carry my apology
And the storm clouds mourn with me
While the forest fire clears away
All my lingery debris
All I need
All I need
All I need
is underneath my feet —Jennifer Lucy Cook
Guest Instrumentalists
FLUTE
Inna Staneva
CLARINET
Karrin Meffert-Nelson
PIANO
Thomoas Mondry
PERCUSSION
Bob Adney
Jeff Bina
About VocalEssence
For 56 years, VocalEssence has provided opportunities for singers from the Twin Cities area to create incredible music together and build connections as part of the vibrant arts community in Minnesota.
VocalEssence is known for introducing audiences to music and artists who are not yet known, often welcoming guest artists, composers, and conductors who are emerging, have unknown works, or represent a variety of cultures. Welcoming all members of the greater community, VocalEssence embodies the motto: Together We Sing.
VOCALESSENCE MISSION VocalEssence draws upon the power of singing together to nurture community, inspire creativity, affirm the value of all persons, and expand the influence of choral music.
VocalEssence Artistic Staff
PHILIP BRUNELLE Artistic Director and Founder
Philip Brunelle, artistic director and founder of VocalEssence 56 years ago, is an internationally-renowned conductor, choral scholar, and visionary. Philip has conducted symphonies, choral festivals, and operas on six continents. He holds five honorary degrees, served 9 years as Vice President of IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music), and has been recognized for his commitment to choral music by the governments of Norway, Hungary, Sweden, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. In 2019, he was awarded the American Prize in Choral Conducting and, in 2020, was given the Honorary Member Award by the Society for American Music. Last fall Philip was appointed a National Arts Associate of the Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity. Philip is also Organist-Choirmaster at Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis. During the pandemic Philip recorded 300 “Musical Moments” which can be accessed at vocalessence.org/category/musical-moments and his thoughts on music are at RenaissanceManpodcast.com. Philip and his wife Carolyn, a studio artist, have 3 children (Tim, Christopher, and Elise) and 7 grandchildren.
G. PHILLIP SHOULTZ, III Associate Artistic Director G. Phillip Shoultz, III, associate artistic director, inspires action and fosters community among people of all ages and abilities through song and spoken word. He is Artistic Director of Sing Democracy 250, a national initiative of the Together In Hope Project, and the University of Minnesota Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert. Phillip is Cantor for Worship, Music, and the Arts at Westwood Lutheran Church and serves on the faculty of the University of St. Thomas, where he leads the Graduate Choral Conducting program. Phillip gives voice to the Songs of Freedom series on Minnesota Public Radio and hosts concerts for the Minnesota Orchestra. He creates content for SonoVoice (the Fitbit for voice) and is founder of “Table for More”, a platform addressing issues of innovation, equity, racial justice, and belonging in the arts. Phillip is engaged across the U.S. and beyond as a conductor, clinician, and worship curator/leader. He is published with Galaxy Music and is the winner of numerous honors, including the ACDA Graduate Conducting Competition and multiple Teacher of the Year awards. Phillip lives in St. Louis Park with his wife, Michelle, and their two children (Malachi and Lydia Grace).
ROBERT GRAHAM Learning and Engagement Manager Conductor, Vintage Voices
Robert Graham is the Learning and Engagement Manager at VocalEssence where he serves as the conductor for the VocalEssence Vintage Voices choirs, and oversees the renowned VocalEssence WITNESS School Program. Robert has a Master of Music degree in both vocal performance and choral conducting from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and a B.A. in vocal performance from Xavier University of Louisiana. Robert currently serves as a section leader of the adult choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, sings second tenor in the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, and also
performs around the Twin Cities as a solo and chamber musician.
CASEY RAFN Accompanist
Pianist Casey Rafn enjoys a varied career as a collaborative pianist both in the United States and abroad, in Europe and Latin America. He is a member of ‘Trés’, whose saxophone-piano trio was just nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album for their new album “Romance al Campesino Porteño.” Casey often collaborates in concert or recordings with members of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and University of Minnesota School of Music faculty. As a piano soloist he took top prizes at the International Liszt-Garrison Competition in Baltimore, has appeared with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, and has taught at both the University of Minnesota School of Music and the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts.
JOHN JENSEN Accompanist, VocalEssence Vintage Voices
John Jensen received his music degrees in Southern California, where he attended Occidental College and University of Southern California. While there he free-lanced as a studio musician, playing on the Andy Williams show and touring the country with prominent singers through Columbia Artists Management. He moved to Iowa and taught for 15 years at Grinnell College as an artist-in-residence. In 1990, John moved to St. Paul and has played with VocalEssence, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He plays jazz and classical piano around the area, including performances with the Bloomingtones, a traveling senior choir based in Bloomington, MN. In 2023, John recorded a piano concerto by the late Paul Reale with the Yale Symphony Orchestra at Yale University which was released by Naxos records.
The VocalEssence Chorus is a group of talented and enthusiastic singers from many different walks of life, united by their love of singing and community. Performing a wide variety of musical styles, premiering new works, and sharing the stage with a diverse array of guest artists, the Chorus is a welcome home for singers who wish to continue making music throughout their adult lives.
SOPRANO
Ann Ambach
AnnaLisa Anderson
Madison Asher
Jessica Belt
Ashley Brandt
Kate Brinkert
Corey Cellurale
Lorinda Chagnon
Marie Colangelo
Amanda Connolly
Emily Dyrdahl
Eva Gibney-Jones
Lillian Gray
Kristina M. Guiffre
Becca Hovsepian
Claire Huber
Sally Jaffray
Elinor Jones
Magdalena Koebele
Laura Langan
Christina Pederson
Venessa Rockwell
Emma Schlabach
Emily D. Seifers
Ashley Slattery
Leah Sovick
Abbie Sulik
Dana Terres
Amanda Troolin
Jennifer Vickerman Akaolisa
Dannika Wright
ALTO
Akosua Obuo Addo
Azure Anderson
Johanna Beaupre
Jo Beld
Katelyn Belden
Maria Coughlan
Mary Depew
Maggie Driemeyer
Monica Gagne
Marjorie Rose Hakala
Meg Hanna
McKenzie Hartke
Dee Hein
Grace Alice Herbertz
Brianna Hill
Grace Hjort
Tori Hornby
Emma Jirele Sandhurst
Katie Kovacovich
Ruby Lindholm Kramer
Annie Krishnan
Jessica Laven Johnson
Jeenee Lee
Lark Lewis
Ana Madai Leyva
Carly Lunden
Danica McDonald
Rachel Moniz
Kristi Mueller
Elizabeth Neuenfeldt
Jillian Paulson
Liz Raimann
Marty Raymond
Miriam Sahouani
Erin Sandsmark
Katie Sandsmark
Sydney Schoeberle
Alyssa Shapiro
Sarah Taft
Laura Tanner
Allie Wigley
TENOR
Erik Adolphson
Brett Bacon
Larry J Brandts
Cheryl A. Calloway
Bjorn Christ
Dante Colmenares
Ryan Coopergard
Mary Kay Delvo
Ben Demaree
Grant Gilbert Dunne
Tim Emery
James Feltes
Kurtis Parlin
Thomas Sasdi
Peter Carlson Schattauer
Ona Sussman
Barry Tikalsky
BASS
Robert Atendido
Seth Bresky
Garret Fettig
Russ Kaplan
Evan Clay Kelly
Jordan Kiffmeyer
John Kuntz
Phil Lowry
John Mai
Nicholas Marcouiller
Thomas Mondry
Nicholas Mroczek
Declan O’Higgins
Milo Oien-Rochat
David Olson
Brian D. Ruhl
Asher Melech Schreiber
Josh Snapp
Jacob Hurley Weindling
The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers have established an international reputation because of their extensive catalog of recordings and broad range of unique repertoire. This chamber choir, whose members hail from a wide variety of professions, is bound together by their skilled artistry to create what The Times of London has described as a “flawless” sound.
VocalEssence Singers Of This Age 2024-25, photo credit-Ethan Kellum Johnson
The VocalEssence Singers Of This Age (SOTA) is a community of Twin Cities teenagers engaged in expanding what it means to be a choir and, encouraging a wider circle of participation in the artform. Presenting music ranging from classical to hip-hop, they use creativity and collaboration to build an accepting community, equipped with the skills to lead social change in our society.
VocalEssence Vintage Voices is an exciting choral program that integrates the arts into the everyday lives of older adults. Guided by a desire to create a welcoming atmosphere and remove barriers for participation, these choirs sing to build community, combat loneliness and isolation, and improve physical and emotional wellbeing.
Torrie Allen
Anna Boyle
Tanya M. Bransford
Philip Brunelle
Ben Brunnette
Martha Driessen
Cassandra Garnett
Brianna Hill
Daniel Kantor
Lisa Merklin Lewis
Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed
Richard Neuner
Kristine Oberg
Jim Odland
Anna Ostroushko
Doug Parish
Joanne Reeck
G. Phillip Shoultz, III
Jeff Smith
Amanda Storm Schuster
Timothy C. Takach
Bob Thacker
Mary Tjosvold
Elizabeth Truesdell Smith
Amy Jaine Wielunski
LIFETIME DIRECTORS
Ann Barkelew
Ann Buran
Art Kaemmer*
Nikki Lewis
Mike McCarthy*
Dave Mona
Fred Moore
Don Shelby
Dorene Wernke
HONORARY DIRECTORS
Dominick Argento*
William Bolcom
Dave Brubeck*
Stewart Copeland
Aaron Copland*
Håkan Hagegård
Louise Heffelfinger*
Eskil Hemberg*
Betty Hulings*
Sigrid Johnson*
James Earl Jones*
Garrison Keillor
Sir James MacMillan
Donald Mitchell*
Helmuth Rilling
John Rutter
Peter Schickele
Dr. André J. Thomas
Eric Whitacre *In remembrance
VocalEssence has a large group of committed supporters and is honored by the many gifts received in memory, appreciation, and celebration of friends and family that are too many to list in this concert program.
Please click the button below to see a full list of supporters and special tributes.
Steve Aggergaard
Marjorie Rose Hakala
Ana Leyva
Thomas Mondry
Nicholas Mroczek
Thomas Sasdi
Bob Smithson
Jennifer Vickerman Akaolisa
Westwood Lutheran Church
