VocalEssence

VocalEssence
  • Who We Are
    • About VocalEssence
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Staff
    • Collaborators
    • Board of Directors
      • VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Advisory Council
      • VocalEssence WITNESS Advisory Council
    • Advancing Inclusion, Access, and Equity
  • What We Do
    • Why Sing?
    • Concerts and Events
    • Celebrating Black Excellence
    • Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle
    • Learning and Engagement Programs
    • Contests and Awards
    • Commissioning and Recording
    • Accessibility
  • Stories & Results
    • #vesotashareshope
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • GPS & Friends
    • Inclusion Access and Equity
    • Musical Moments
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Schools & Education
    • Take 5 with GPS
    • Together We Sing
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
      • Bridge to the Future Campaign
      • Fundraising Events
    • Engage a Choir
    • Sing with Us
    • Join the Board
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Login
  • Buy Tickets
  • Digital Programming
  • Donate
Search
More...

In the Media

NPR.org: Dessa: Something Old And Something New, Suitable For Choir

Kelly Loverud/Courtesy of the artist Dessa recently reworked two of her songs with Minnesota’s VocalEssence choir.
Kelly Loverud/Courtesy of the artist
Dessa recently reworked two of her songs with Minnesota’s VocalEssence choir.

By Stephen Thompson
Posted December 22, 2014

Dessa‘s list of credits includes work as a singer, poet, writer, speaker, rapper (both solo and with the Doomtree collective) and all-around entrepreneur. She constantly blurs the lines separating those roles, too, recasting her own work for new genres, settings and collaborators. On her 2011 album Castor, The Twin, for example, she took some of her best-known songs, stripped away the beats, and rebuilt each composition using live, frequently orchestral arrangements.

All of which is to say: When Dessa reworks her songs with the help of Minnesota’s VocalEssence choir, it’s not a surprise, so much as another fresh adventure for an artist who’s made a career out of them. Here she is, performing her 2013 song “Skeleton Key” with VocalEssence at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on Oct. 26:

And here’s Dessa, again with VocalEssence at the same show, performing a new, as-yet-unreleased song called “The Good Fight”:

“I make my living as an MC and a singer with Doomtree Records, a rap label,” Dessa writes via email. “But as a little kid, I didn’t listen to a lot of rap. When I was a toddler, my dad was a lute player and the music I heard around the house was 300 years old. The sound of that sacred music, often melancholic, informs the pop music that I make and perform now. I’m particularly fond of voices moving in dynamic harmony, and to achieve that sound on my solo records, I layer my own voice a dozen times.

“When Philip Brunelle, the artistic director of VocalEssence choir, asked if I wanted to work together, my first thought was, ‘When do I tell him I can’t read music?’ My second thought was, ‘Say yes before you tell him you can’t read music.’

“If you’re not in the choral scene (and I’m just starting to learn my way around), suffice it to say that VocalEssence is a big deal; it’s an internationally respected group. I scored major points at Thanksgiving when I shared the news of our collaboration.

“Months later, I performed two pieces with VocalEssence. The first is a choral version of my track ‘Skeleton Key’ (thanks to Andy Thompson for this arrangement, and to Lazerbeak for the original beat). The second is a new song called “The Good Fight,” which Andy and I also worked on together, sitting side-by-side at his piano while his toddler looked on.”

Dessa appears on a new album with Doomtree, All Hands, which comes out Jan. 27.

« Back to In the Media

Recent Stories

  • Sabathani Vintage Voices Perform at Senior Housing Grand Opening June 23, 2022
  • Where in the World are the Conductors-June 2022 June 22, 2022
  • VocalEssence Singers Of This Age perform at Westminster Town Hall Forum May 26, 2022
  • Where in the World are the Conductors-May 2022 May 26, 2022
  • Philip Brunelle featured in Choral Journal April 29, 2022
  • About Us
    • About VocalEssence
    • Press Room
    • Annual Report
    • Financial Information
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • VocalEssence COVID Protocols
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sing with Us
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Connect
    • Email Sign Up
    • Contact Us/Location
    • Chorus Connection
    • VocalEssence Board Login
  • VocalEssence
  • 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403
  • Phone: 612-547-1451
  • Fax: 612-547-1484
  • info@vocalessence.org
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 VocalEssence. All rights reserved.

https://www.vocalessence.org/pressrelease/npr-org-dessa-something-old-something-new-suitable-choir

This website uses cookies for necessary functions and to enhance your browsing experience.

Accept & Continue