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…
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer William Boyce. William Boyce 1711-1779 William Boyce is one of the foremost English composers of church music of his era, and also known for his symphonies and stage music. Boyce began his musical education under… Read More →
Today marks the seventh day of 28 Days of Black Excellence created by VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III. Phillip highlights the work of Joseph Lee, a caterer, baker, and restauranteur who invented two things that revolutionized the food industry and still impact our favorite party foods today. His musical inspiration comes from the… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Michael Abels. Michael Abels b. 1962 Michael Abels is best-known for his scores for the Oscar-winning film GET OUT, and for Jordan Peele’s US, for which Abels won the World Soundtrack Award, the Jerry Goldsmith… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Charles Gounod. Charles Gounod 1818-1893 The French composer Charles Gounod is noted for his operas, of which the most famous is Faust. Born into an artistic household, his mother was a capable pianist and gave… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Henry Purcell. This episode features Soprano Maria Jette. Henry Purcell 1659-1695 Henry Purcell, the most important English composer of his time, is best remembered for his more than 100 songs, a tragic opera, his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Franz Josef Haydn. Franz Josef Haydn 1732-1809 Franz Josef Haydn, the Austrian composer known as the “father of the symphony,” was one of the most prominent and prolific composers of the Classical period. Haydn revealed… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Edward Elgar. This episode features Mezzo-Soprano Clara Osowski. Edward Elgar 1857-1934 The British composer Edward Elgar was a composer and violinist whose compositional methods led to an ambitious output of works. His family was musical… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Théodore Dubois. Théodore Dubois 1837-1924 Théodore Dubois, French composer, organist and teacher, is well-known for his religious choral works, some of which have been part of the French church repertory for decades. Born into a… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Leoš Janáček. This episode features Soprano Maria Jette. Leoš Janáček 1854-1928 Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, conductor, organist, folk song collector, and teacher known for his unique compositional style influenced by Moravian folk music.… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Gioachino Rossini. This episode features a duet with Soprano Maria Jette and Mezzo-Soprano Clara Osowski. Gioachino Rossini 1792-1868 No composer in the first half of the 19th century enjoyed the measure of prestige, wealth, popular… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Hugo Distler. Hugo Distler 1908-1942 Born in Nuremberg, Germany, Hugo Distler is known mostly for his sacred choral music. He began his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory in the conducting class, with piano as his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Thomas Tallis. Thomas Tallis 1505-1585 The career of the English composer Thomas Tallis spans the troubled period of the reign of Henry VIII to the reign of the last Tudor monarch, Queen Elizabeth I. These… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Claude Debussy. Claude Debussy 1862-1918 French composer and pianist, Claude Debussy, known for his operas, symphonic music and his works for the piano, remains one of the most commonly-performed composers of the late nineteenth century.… Read More →
“The two of us watched your musical moments together each day and they truly were the highlight of his day.” —Tracy Rode, Jack Cole’s daughter Jack and Ann Cole were treasured by so many, including VocalEssence. We are humbled to know that Philip Brunelle’s Musical Moments were such a comfort to Jack in his last… Read More →
