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
    • Engage a Choir
    • Sing with Us
    • Join the Board
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Login
  • On Demand
  • Buy Tickets
  • Donate
Search
More...

Review

Star Tribune: Singer Marian Anderson is celebrated in the 24th annual ‘Witness’ concert in Minneapolis

REVIEW: The legendary 20th-century contralto Marian Anderson is profiled at annual Witness concert.

By Rohan Preston, Star Tribune
February 18, 2013
Link to original story

For 24 years, VocalEssence, one of the Twin Cities’ premier singing
ensembles, has shone a light on African-American musical genius and
ingenuity through its Witness concert series. Last year, the Philip
Brunelle-led chorus celebrated the work of jazz trumpeter Hannibal
Lokumbe, whose composition about his spiritual journey included a live
rapper. This year, the company returned to deeper roots. It orbited the
life and work of pioneering contralto Marian Anderson (1897-1993).

Anderson, whose visage graced a gold medal issued
by the U.S. Treasury in 1980, was a giant not simply because of her
training and deeply expressive talent. She overcame racial barriers to
her art, including, most famously, the prohibition by the Daughters of
the American Revolution from performing in their Constitution Hall in
Washington, D.C., in 1939.

On Sunday, soprano Marlissa Hudson, accompanied
by Charles Kemper, drew from Anderson’s repertoire. It was a
questionable choice, given the shift in registers of the singers. But
Hudson proved more than capable, delivering with great control and
soulfulness. Like Anderson, Hudson suggested that she was dipping into a
deep well of perseverance and hope, of spirit and certainty. Her
“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” was a moving highlight.

Anderson was played by two performers at the
Ordway Center concert. Greta Oglesby brought moral authority to the
speaking parts in an educational script written and directed by Jon
Cranney. The narrative used a simple framing device. Anderson, in
Washington, D.C., to sing the national anthem at the 1963 March on
Washington, tells her story to a curious young hotel employee, Alice
(Andrea Ivy).

The concert, conducted lyrically by Brunelle,
included compositions by David Baker, who set a Mari Evans poem to
music, and Elizabeth Lim, who composed Rita Dove’s “Lady Freedom Among
Us.” Perhaps the wittiest piece came from composer Elizabeth Alexander,
whose playful 1992 setting of Langston Hughes’ 19-word epigram, “I’m
Telling You,” was a jazzy delight.

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390

Twitter: @RohanPresto

« Back to Reviews

Recent Stories

  • VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Perform at WCCO Holiday Tree Lighting December 22, 2022
  • VocalEssence Holiday Programming 2022 December 15, 2022
  • Thank you for your support at the VocalEssence 2022 Gala! November 4, 2022
  • VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Joined Twin Cities Choirs for Reconcile  November 4, 2022
  • VocalEssence Announces New Mission, Vision, and Values Statements November 4, 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 © 2023 VocalEssence. All rights reserved.

https://www.vocalessence.org/pressrelease/star-tribune-singer-marian-anderson-is-celebrated-in-the-24th-annual-witness-concert-in-minneapolis

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

Accept & Continue