VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers Sara Pajunen, fiddle Philip Brunelle, conductor Released in October 2015, Nordic Nativity is a wonderful exploration of beautiful music from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark—some of it familiar and some of it new. The Nordic composers have a marvelous way of spinning a melody that gets inside you and stays there!… Read More →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC4EWANvsp4&feature=youtu.be October is Veterans’ Voices Month, as proclaimed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2014, and VocalEssence will open our 47th Season on October 11 with Dreams of the Fallen, a tribute to U.S. military Veterans. Jake Runestad, whose monumental work with Iraq war Veteran and poet Brian Turner provides the centerpiece and title for the… Read More →
By Graydon Royce September 11, 2015 — 1:48pm ‘Dreams of the Fallen’ Jake Runestad, one of the choral world’s hot young composers, set music to the words of Iraq war veteran and poet Brian Turner for this concert by VocalEssence and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra that tries to comprehend the incomprehensible experience of the warrior.… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE TO RELEASE NEWEST HOLIDAY ALBUM: “NORDIC NATIVITY” CELEBRATES THE SEASON WITH NORDIC COOL Compilation of songs from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark includes Christmas favorites old and new MINNEAPOLIS—July 28, 2015—Glaedelig jul! Joyous Christmas! Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence will release its newest album, “Nordic Nativity,” featuring traditional holiday music… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE PERFORMS “DREAMS OF THE FALLEN” TO OPEN 47th SEASON Acclaimed choral ensemble delivers work of veteran and poet in Midwest premiere Oct. 11 MINNEAPOLIS—JULY 28, 2015—What does it mean to live through 21st-century war? Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence will stage the Midwest premiere of Dreams of the Fallen, an… Read More →
By Graydon Royce Star Tribune July 2, 2015 — 3:00 pm Video (03:27): It takes Don Shelby two hours to transform into Mark Twain for the L’Homme Dieu Theatre production of River Songs with Mark Twain in Alexandria, Minn. Alexandria, Minn. – The show started about midnight. High above the campfire audience at Theatre L’Homme… Read More →
For just about as long she can remember, Judy Drobeck has been singing. It started as it does for many children, “singing rounds and part songs with my family as we rode in the car or did the dishes—as early as 2 or 3 years old,” according to Judy. “My older sisters had learned some… Read More →
VocalEssence performed with the Rolling Stones on stage during their one-night-only performance June 3 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, a stop on the 15-city North American ZIP CODE Tour. VocalEssence Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle and Associate Conductor Phillip Shoultz both conducted. “It was an amazing experience,” Philip Brunelle told MPR News, when… Read More →
Jon Collins · Jun 4, 2015 Listen Story audio 3min 54sec Mick Jagger in Minneapolis Jeff Wheeler | Star Tribune via AP VocalEssence artistic director Philip Brunelle didn’t hesitate when the Rolling Stones asked if his choir would perform on the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the band’s Minneapolis show. “I said,… Read More →
Posted: Jun 02, 2015 9:47 PM CDT Updated: Jun 03, 2015 8:42 AM CDT by Ted Haller MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) – Over 50 years ago, the Rolling Stones first played Minnesota. It was 1964 and the gig was at the now closed Excelsior Amusement Park dance hall (closed in 1973) where they were reportedly booed… Read More →
(Photo: VocalEssence) May 27, 2015 By William Wilcoxen Like the rest of us, the singers in the Twin Cities choral group VocalEssence can’t always get what they want. If they want to sing with the Rolling Stones, though, that can be arranged. In fact, it has been. VocalEssence announced Wednesday that the group will appear… Read More →
Mick Jagger, from left, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones perform to a sold-out crowd during the kickoff concert of their 15-city North American stadium, ZIP CODE tour, in San Diego on May 24, 2015. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TDF Productions) Pioneer Press Posted: 05/27/2015 12:01:00 AM… Read More →
The VocalEssence production of The Radio Hour snagged a national debut in May on American Public Media’s YourClassical.org. Whether you missed the Midwest premiere performance in March or want to enjoy it all over again, take a look at this video of the 40-minute choral opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. The VocalEssence… Read More →
Jennifer Mayerle MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Minnesota choir will step on stage next week with the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll band. VocalEssence was asked to join the Rolling Stones for their Minneapolis stop at TCF Bank Stadium. The group found out a month ago, but was sworn to secrecy until Wednesday. “It’s wonderful,” VocalEssence founder and… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann Jennifer@owl-marketing.com 612-716-0556 VocalEssence to Perform with the Rolling Stones on Twin Cities Stop of 2015 ‘ZIP CODE’ Tour MINNEAPOLIS—May 27, 2015—VocalEssence announced today that it will perform with the Rolling Stones on stage during its one-night-only performance June 3 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The VocalEssence singers will perform with… Read More →
