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Ida B. Wells | Women’s History Month with GPS

On this Saturday edition highlighting Black Excellence in Women’s HERstory, GPS highlights the contributions of educator and journalist, Ida B. Wells. Our musical inspiration comes in the form of the Temptations legendary, “My Girl.” Learn More https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett https://www.nps.gov/people/idabwells.htm https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/barnett-ida-wells-1862-1931/ Sponsor Black Excellence Each episode and blog post take $250 to create and produce. Consider sponsoring…  Read More

Shirley Chisholm | Women’s History Month with GPS

It’s Friday morning, so take a few minutes and Take 5 with GPS. This morning GPS shares an inspirational figure to so many in the U.S. and beyond, American politician, educator, and author, Shirley Chisholm. Our musical pairing is “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” by Smokey Robinson and Robert Rogers as made…  Read More

Marva Collins | Women’s History Month with GPS

Join us for another Thursday-edition of Take 5, as GPS highlights education activist Marva Collins and shares a song passed down by oral tradition in the Black community, “Somebody’s Hurting My Brother.” Learn More https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/marva-collins-40 http://nytimes.com/2015/06/29/us/marva-collins-78-no-nonsense-educator-and-activist-dies.html https://tpt.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/7199de5c-446e-4db6-b949-d3a0d22dadcc/george-franklin-husband-of-marva-n-collins/ Sponsor Black Excellence Each episode and blog post take $250 to create and produce. Consider sponsoring a day…  Read More

Mae Jemison | Women’s History Month with GPS

It’s a Wednesday kids day on Take 5; join GPS as he sings a little Angel Medley and shares a little about the 1st African American woman to participate in the NASA space program, Mae Jemison. Learn More “Mae Among the Stars” by Roda Ahmed, Stasia Burrington (Illustrator) http://teacher.scholastic.com/space/mae_jemison/index.htm https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mae-jemison https://www.biography.com/astronaut/mae-c-jemison https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/jemison_mae.pdf Sponsor Black Excellence Each…  Read More

Janet Emerson Bashen | Women’s History Month with GPS

Today, we highlight Janet Emerson Bashen, founder and CEO of the Bashen Corporation, a private consulting group that investigates Equal Employment Opportunity complaints under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the first African American woman in the United States to hold a software patent. Our musical inspiration is “Reach Out and Touch” by Nickolas Ashford and…  Read More

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson | Women’s History Month with GPS

Today, we highlight physicist, researcher, and University president, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. Our musical inspiration is a call to supporting each other, “I’ll Be There” as made popular by the Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, and other artists. Learn More https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/about/meet-our-guests/shirley-jackson https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/shirley-ann-jackson/ https://www.aps.org/careers/physicists/profiles/sjackson.cfm Sponsor Black Excellence Each episode and blog post take $250 to create and…  Read More

Elijah McCoy | 28 Days of Black Excellence

On this final day of February, GPS continues to highlight Black excellence by introducing us to the work of Elijah McCoy, an inventor and engineer who has over 57 patents to his name that touch on many facets of our everyday lives. Our musical inspiration is in the form of Duke Ellington’s legendary ballad, “Come…  Read More

Composers Datebook: “Welcome Christmas” Carol Contest

By John Birge | Your Classical Published: Sunday, December 6 “Welcome Christmas” Carol Contest Synopsis On today’s date in 1998, two brand-new Christmas carols debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the “Welcome Christmas” choral concert of VocalEssence conducted by Philip Brunelle. The two carols, “Sweet Noel” by Joan Griffith and “The Virgin’s Cradle Hymn” by Richard…  Read More

Eskil Hemberg

Eskil Hemberg | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Eskil Hemberg. Eskil Hemberg 1938-2004 Eskil Hemberg was a composer and conductor born in Stockholm, Sweden. He studied organ, composition, and conducting at the Stockholm Royal College of Music under Herbert Blomstedt from 1957 to…  Read More

Hensel

Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. This episode features two guest performers: soprano Maria Jette and VocalEssence’s pianist Mary Jo Gothmann. Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel 1805-1847 During her lifetime, German composer Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel was not nearly as well-known as her brother,…  Read More

Explore the Limits of the Human Voice at Divine Light

Purchase your tickets to Divine Light on Sunday, October 13, 2019 by clicking here! A Silence Haunts Me In 2017, Jake Runestad travelled to Vienna and found himself in the Haus der Musik Museum in Vienna, where he encountered a facsimile of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament.  It was the first time he had read…  Read More

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Annually VocalEssence partners with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) to offer in depth workshops about our concerts for older adults. OLLI at the University of Minnesota is a vital community of older adults who are brought together by their intellectual curiosity and love of learning. An affiliated program of the university’s College of Continuing Education,…  Read More