FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com SET YOUR SOUL FREE WITH VOCALESSENCE WITNESS: WHAT A MIGHTY GOD Spirituals are in the spotlight as the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers welcome Dr. André Thomas, NaGuanda Nobles, and Christian Mark Gibbs—November 17 MINNEAPOLIS — June 26, 2019 — VocalEssence is honoring the tradition of… Read More →
The VocalEssence WITNESS School Program is an exciting opportunity for Minnesota students and teachers to learn more about the contributions African Americans have made, and are making, to the fine arts. 2020-2021 VocalEssence WITNESS: Will you be a Witness? Movements of Social Change Throughout history and across many cultures, music and movement, art and creative expression have all… Read More →
By Pamela Espeland | MinnPost April 24, 2019: https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2019/04/yellow-tree-lyric-arts-artistry-2019-20-lineups/ Photo by Guy Magno A scene from a previous production of “Another Miracle on Christmas Lake.” Take a break from downtown parking woes … in both cities. Good theater happens in places that have ample free parking just outside the door. Three robust theater companies have recently… Read More →
The custom of singing Christmas carols brings joy to the holiday season unlike any other tradition. Every December VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum celebrate this tradition in their own unique way by championing today’s composers, exploring new works, and rediscovering lesser-known works of the past. Through the Welcome Christmas Carol Contest, VocalEssence and the Forum provide composers with the… Read More →
Click Here to Download the 2019 Welcome Christmas Guidelines and Application 2019 Contest Guidelines World premiere: No prior performance of submitted work. Original carol: No arrangements or new settings of existing tunes. Eligibility: Composers of all ages whose permanent residence is North America. Form: Carol (defined as a strophic song, which may or may not… Read More →
By Pamela Espeland MinnPost FEBRUARY 28, 2019 — 08:24AM https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2019/02/vocalessence-to-present-witness-times-two-joffrey-ballet-to-perform-anna-karenina/ VocalEssence was born in 1969 as the Plymouth Church Music Series. Just another concert series at a local church, founded by an ambitious, tireless and hypercreative choir director and organist named Philip Brunelle. In 2002, the Plymouth Music Series became VocalEssence. Today, Brunelle and his singers are… Read More →
Four Performances Saturday, December 7, 2019 from 7:30-9:30 PM – Completed Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, MN Sunday, December 8, 2019 from 4-6 PM – Completed Plymouth Congregational Church 1919 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN Friday, December 13, 2019 from 7:30-9:30 PM Plymouth Congregational Church 1919 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis,… Read More →
“Life after 50” could be a challenge for some, but not for VocalEssence! We are moving from one anniversary to the next. This season marks 30 years since we began our VocalEssence WITNESS program honoring the contributions of African Americans to the arts. We are celebrating with two WITNESS-themed performances this season—What a Mighty God… Read More →
by Ross Raihala | Pioneer Press February 21, 2019 at 1:00 pm https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/21/vocalessences-witness-concert-honors-ilhan-omar-hallie-q-brown-other-trailblazers/ Back in 2017, VocalEssence associate conductor G. Phillip Shoultz III was starting to plan the group’s annual Witness concert and was thinking about influential women who changed everything. “I was struck by what is going on in our society with the rise and… Read More →
DEAR SANTA, HAVE YOU HAD THE MEASLES? Frank Kells, Al Arland, & Al Vann For a number of years the Ensemble Singers appeared with Philip Brunelle on Minnesota Public Radio each December with a program of humorous Christmas music that no one hears—this being one of the ‘gems.’ (SWEET ANGIE) THE CHRISTMAS TREE ANGEL M.K.… Read More →
By Rob Hubbard | Special to the Pioneer Press December 2, 2018—4:30PM | UPDATED: December 2, 2018—4:43PM: https://www.twincities.com/2018/12/02/review-vocalessences-welcome-christmas-best-when-ringing-in-the-new/ It never gets old. Such could be said of the repertoire at VocalEssence’s annual “Welcome Christmas” concerts. If you want to hear a choir singing familiar carols at this time of year, you’d best look elsewhere, for this Minneapolis-based choral… Read More →
By Rob Hubbard November 24, 2018—9:00AM | UPDATED: November 28, 2018—12:28PM: https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/24/holidays-have-plenty-of-sweets-sweet-vocal-harmonies-that-is/ If Yuletide carols being sung by a choir sounds like your ideal holiday elixir, then this is the December for you in the Twin Cities. Vocal harmonies abound, as all of our best groups have their own concerts … and a couple of them hook up… Read More →
by Terry Blain October 8, 2018: http://www.startribune.com/vocalessence-sounds-festive-at-50th-anniversary-concert/495932081/ Review: A high-energy anniversary concert revisited the ensemble’s greatest hits. In the beginning, there was Aaron Copland. Fifty years ago, Philip Brunelle invited the iconic American composer to conduct his newly formed choir at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. The great composer accepted. And the rest, as they say, is… Read More →
by Kathy Berdan October 4, 2018: https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/04/vocalessence-50th-anniversary-concert-ordway-st-paul-philip-brunelle-aaron-copland-cantare/ Harmony through harmony. That’s a good description of what Twin Cities choral stalwart VocalEssence has been doing for half a century. Founder and director Philip Brunelle and the group’s 30-member professional Ensemble Singers recently returned from a trip to Mexico City, where they performed with 30 Mexican singers and a… Read More →
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com IT’S BEGINNING TO SOUND A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS—WITH VOCALESSENCE! This year, the Minneapolis-based choral ensemble’s beloved annual Welcome Christmas concert will include a special 50th Anniversary Season retrospective and new pieces by composer Nico Muhly MINNEAPOLIS — September 18, 2018 — The VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers’ annual… Read More →
