VocalEssence WITNESS Classroom Resource Hub

Welcome from the LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT TEAM Thank you for registering for VocalEssence WITNESS! Enjoy these free resources funded by institutions and individual donors. Scroll down to view a variety of resources created by curriculum writer Joanna Cortright and the VocalEssence Learning and Engagement team staff. We hope you and your students will use and…

Craig Carnahan | 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 Craig Carnahan. Craig Carnahan b. 1951 Craig Carnahan is an American composer whose music has been commissioned and performed by prestigious ensembles throughout North America.  Carnahan received his B.A. from Concordia College (Moorhead, MN) and…  Read More

Where in the World are the Conductors – February 2021

Artistic Director Philip Brunelle and Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III are hard at work this month preparing for a multitude of upcoming performances. Philip Brunelle The month of February is filled with rehearsals for our next concert, Call of the North; how wonderful to have the Ensemble Singers back together! The concert (to be…  Read More

Cary John Franklin | 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 Cary John Franklin. Cary John Franklin b. 1956 Cary John Franklin is a nationally recognized composer with commissions and performances from many of the leading performing ensembles in the United States. Educated in Minnesota at…  Read More

Joel Thompson | 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 Joel Thompson. Joel Thompson b.1988 Joel Thompson is an Atlanta composer, pianist, conductor, and educator best known for his choral work, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed which was premiered in November 2015 by the University…  Read More

Paul Rudoi | 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 Paul Rudoi. This episode features composer Paul Rudoi. Paul Rudoi b.1985 Paul Rudoi is an award-winning composer, conductor, tenor vocalist, and arts entrepreneur. He holds degrees from the Hartt School and the University of Oregon,…  Read More

Jennifer Higdon | 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 Jennifer Higdon. Jennifer Higdon b.1962 Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers. She is a major figure in contemporary Classical music, receiving the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music…  Read More

Mack Wilberg | 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 Mack Wilberg. Mack Wilberg b.1955 Mack J. Wilberg is an American composer, arranger, conductor, and choral clinician who has served as music director of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square since 2008. Raised in Utah,…  Read More

Sasha Johnson Manning | 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 Sasha Johnson Manning. Sasha Johnson Manning b.1963  Sasha Johnson Manning is an English composer, vocalist, and cellist, whose choral works are frequently performed throughout Europe. She began composing at the age of seven and studied…  Read More

Franz Biebl | 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 Franz Biebl. Franz Biebl 1906-2001 Franz Biebl was a German composer, conductor, and recording engineer, best known for his Ave Maria. At the Munich Hochschule, Biebl studied composition with Joseph Haas and Siegmund von Hausegger,…  Read More

Brian Holmes | 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 Brian Holmes. This episode features Tenor Dan Dressen. Brian Holmes b.1946 The American composer and horn player, Brian Holmes, has been commissioned for over thirty pieces that have been performed throughout the United States. Holmes…  Read More

Francis Grier | 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 Francis Grier. Francis Grier b.1955 Francis Grier is an English composer, organist, pianist, and psychoanalyst, best known for his compositions for choir and voice. He was a chorister at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, music…  Read More

Gian Carlo Menotti | 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 Gian Carlo Menotti. This episode features Tenor Dan Dressen. Gian Carlo Menotti 1911-2007 Gian Carlo Menotti, the Italian-American composer and librettist, became the most-performed contemporary opera composer of his era. At age  7, under the…  Read More

Dale Trumbore | 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 Dale Trumbore.  Dale Trumbore b. 1987 Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music features soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies. Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition and English from the…  Read More

Morten Lauridsen | 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 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