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VocalEssence Announces New Full-Time Associate Conductor

We are very excited and honored to announce today a wonderful addition to our VocalEssence team. G. Phillip Shoultz, III will be joining Philip Brunelle as the new full-time Associate Conductor of VocalEssence this July. This is an expanded position with our organization, one that we hope will have far-reaching impact on both VocalEssence and…  Read More

And the Winners Are … Four Chosen for VocalEssence ReMix Composer Mentorships

Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters have been selected to have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship through VocalEssence ReMix as they each write a choral work. Each has been paired with a Composer Mentor, and on Saturday, June 6, they will gather for a One-Day Summer Workshop where they will meet with VocalEssence Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle, their…  Read More

‘Four Saints’ playful in words and music

REVIEW: Opera by Gertrude Stein, Virgil Thomson gets delightful staging by VocalEssence, Black Label troupe. By TERRY BLAIN Special to the Star Tribune MARCH 20, 2016 — 11:24PM http://www.startribune.com/four-saints-playful-in-words-and-music/372843271/ It has no plot worth mentioning, and the silliest libretto in operatic history. That’s the naysayers’ take on Virgil Thomson’s “Four Saints in Three Acts,” which hasn’t…  Read More

VocalEssence Puts on a Big Show (or Nine) with Diverse 47th Season

CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE PUTS ON A BIG SHOW (OR NINE) WITH DIVERSE 47TH SEASON Celebrated Twin Cities choral organization announces new season promoting diverse communities—through the voice MINNEAPOLIS—March 14, 2015—Acclaimed Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence—recognized internationally for its innovative explorations of music—announces an intriguing 47th season of concerts. The 2015-2016 lineup celebrates many…  Read More

VocalEssence WITNESS School Program instructs and inspires

This year, 49 partner schools are participating in the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program, which began with the annual Teacher Orientation Seminar in September and continues through workshops and residencies with our Teaching Artists. The theme, “Let Freedom Ring,” focused on the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his lifelong promotion of racial equality through…  Read More

VocalEssence Dials Back the Clock for The Radio Hour

CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE DIALS BACK THE CLOCK FOR THE RADIO HOUR Twin Cities ensemble celebrates the golden age of radio at A Prairie Home Companion’s Fitzgerald Theater—Mar. 14-15 MINNEAPOLIS — February 12, 2015 — The 32-voice Ensemble Singers and acclaimed Minneapolis actress Christina Baldwin will take center stage at the famed Minnesota…  Read More

Singer Calendars

View Volunteer Chorus Rehearsal/Concert Schedule Link to Google calendar HERE View Ensemble Singer Rehearsal/Concert Schedule Link to Google calendar HERE

Composer Mentors

Libby Larsen Libby Larsen (b. 24 December 1950, Wilmington, Delaware) is one of America’s most performed living composers.  She has created a catalogue of over 500 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and more than 15 operas. Libby is a Grammy Award-winner and is widely recorded,…  Read More

The Tender Land — 2 CD Set

Elisabeth Comeaux, Janis Hardy, LeRoy Lehr, James Bohn; Plymouth Music Series Festival Chorus with orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor. Aaron Copland’s opera examines coming of age in the 1930s. “From the party scene to the soaring love duet, The Tender Land is unfailingly inspired.” — Musical America

WITNESS: André Thomas – Concert Recording

VocalEssence, The St. Olaf Choir and three Minnesota High School Choirs — Central High School (Saint Paul); Hastings High School and Washburn High School (Minneapolis) — are featured in a new live concert recording available exclusively by download from Instant Encore. “WITNESS – André Thomas” was recorded in concert at Orchestra Hall on Friday, March…  Read More

The WITNESS Collection (4-CD Set)

VocalEssence WITNESS recordings showcase the music of trailblazing African American composers — the soul of American classical music. This CD collection is out of print, but you can still order the individual CDs through Gothic Records. Please click the links below to learn more. Dance Like the Wind: Music of Today’s Black Composers Got the…  Read More

Got the Saint Louis Blues: Classical Music in the Jazz Age

Vibrant music from the crossroads — South and North, African and American, church and street — characterizes the era between 1914 and 1930. Jearlyn Steele, soprano; Michael Forest, tenor; Paul Shaw, piano; VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Chorus with orchestra; Philip Brunelle, conductor. “The works on this excellent recording [by VocalEssence] capture the spirit of the…  Read More

Skyward My People Rose: Music of William Grant Still

William Grant Still’s music for chorus, orchestra and organ brings the blues into the concert hall, ragtime to the ballet stage and the Old World into a new era. William Warfield, narrator; Hilda Harris, Yolanda Williams, soloists; VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Chorus with orchestra; special guests Leigh Morris Chorale: Philip Brunelle, conductor. “I found much…  Read More