In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Rollo Dilworth. Rollo Dilworth b.1970 Rollo Dilworth is an American choral composer, arranger, conductor, and music educator best-known for his contemporary choral arrangements of African American spirituals. As a young boy growing up in St.… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Morten Lauridsen. Morten Lauridsen b. 1943 Morten Lauridsen is a National Medal of Arts recipient and the most frequently performed American choral composer in modern history. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Lauridsen worked as… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Franz Schubert. Franz Schubert 1797-1828 Franz Schubert is best-known as the Austrian composer who bridged the worlds of Classical and Romantic music, and the melody and harmony in his songs and chamber music. Born into… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Katherine K. Davis. Katherine K. Davis 1892-1980 Katherine K. Davis, an American pianist, composer, and educator, is best-known for her Christmas tune, Little Drummer Boy. Davis took her first piano lesson as a first grader,… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Robert Harris. Robert Harris b.1938 The African American composer and educator Robert A. Harris, is best-known for his choral settings of sacred and secular texts. Dr. Harris received his education from Wayne State University in… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Nils Lindberg. Nils Lindberg b.1933 Swedish composer and pianist, Nils Lindberg, is best-known for his works and arrangements for performers including Duke Ellington and Judy Garland. The music which he creates, whether written for choir,… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Frank Martin. This episode features Mezzo-Soprano Clara Osowski. Frank Martin 1890-1974 The German composer, educator, and pianist, Frank Martin, is best known for his religious choral works including his oratorio, In Terra Pax and his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Alvin Singleton. Alvin Singleton b.1940 Alvin Singleton is an African-American composer and educator known for his prolific compositions for orchestra, theatre, and chamber ensembles. Singleton was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended New York… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Jonathan Harvey. Jonathan Harvey 1939-2012 Born in Warwickshire in 1939, Jonathan Harvey was a chorister at St Michael’s College, Tenbury, and later a major music scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge. He gained doctorates from… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer John Philip Sousa. This episode features Tenor Bradley Greenwald. John Philip Sousa 1854-1932 Composer of the official national march of the United States, The Stars and Stripes Forever!, John Philip Sousa, known as the “March… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Rodion Shchedrin. Rodion Shchedrin b. 1932 Rodion Shchedrin, Russian composer and virtuosic pianist, was born in Moscow into a musical family: his father was a composer and a teacher of music theory. After completing his… Read More →
By Pamela Espeland | MINNPOST PUBLISHED: January 20, 2021 ‘Some Kind of Heaven’ is one kind of retirement; ‘Bolerobolero, the Film’ to premiere ALSO: VocalEssence’s “Believe” streaming now; Dominic Taylor’s “Cell Surface”; and more. A scene from “Some Kind of Heaven.” Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures Many people first heard of The Villages, the largest retirement community in… Read More →
A pandemic didn’t stop these singers in their eighties at Trillium Woods from bringing a little joy to their lives. Together with the leadership of VocalEssence Vintage Voices artistic director Robert Graham and help from the brand new virtual choir recording platform SongAlong, these singers created a mini choir concert! After 10 weeks of Zoom… Read More →
By Pamela Espeland | MINNPOST PUBLISHED: December 4, 2020 Christmas concerts coming up; Louise Erdrich at One Book, One Minnesota Dr. Anton Armstrong conducting the Massed Choirs and St. Olaf Orchestra during the 2019 Christmas Festival. Courtesy of St. Olaf College And suddenly it’s December. Hard to believe almost nine months have passed since the first… Read More →
As we close out the most challenging year in our 52 year history, we are hearing some shining stories of resilience and moments of joy. Liza and Jim Ervin are singers in the VocalEssence Vintage Voices choir at Trillium Woods. It was December 2015 when they moved to the Twin Cities from Connecticut. Fortunately, friends… Read More →
