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VOCALESSENCE ANNOUNCES CONCERTS FOR 2025-26 SEASON
Minnesota’s premier choral organization brings the whole wide world of music to audiences for its 57th season

MINNEAPOLIS—June 10, 2025—VocalEssence, one of the world’s premier choral music organizations, today announces the performances for its 57th concert season. The seven concerts in the 2025-2026 season show the global reach of VocalEssence as an organization and gift audiences with the chance to experience choral music in all its richness–from combining classical music traditions of South India and the West in the season opener Sarojini, to spotlighting the power of the baritone voice courtesy of star talent Roderick Williams, the triumphant return of the brilliant Sir John Rutter, and celebrating the versatility of the human voice in the season finale.

“I look over plans for our 57th season and can hardly believe our luck–the seeds of community planted by VocalEssence and our commitment to nurturing artists have led to a truly magnificent selection of concerts,” says Philip Brunelle, VocalEssence artistic director and founder. “Our ties to the British choral community are drawing amazing artists to Minnesota, including baritone Roderick Williams and the incomparable composer and conductor Sir John Rutter. We’ll be celebrating John’s 80th birthday with the appreciation that comes from decades of friendship. In addition, we’ll be performing the North American premiere of Sarojini with more than a little bit of familial pride–composer Shruthi Rajasekar was a college senior when she won a position in our Re/Mix mentorship program eight years ago! VocalEssence has invested more than half a century in the art of choral music and we think you can feel the magic of what we’ve built at every performance.”

“Our passion for choral music lies in its ability to express the full range of humanity–human joy, human sorrow, and human struggle,” says G. Phillip Shoultz, III, VocalEssence associate artistic director. “This season marks our 36th year of honoring the contributions to American culture made by Black artists through the VocalEssence WITNESS program, and our concert spotlighting Spirituals will be an incredible afternoon of music. Composer B.E. Boykin will be joining us to hear the world premieres of two settings we’re thrilled to have commissioned from her. Working with emerging artists like her, and like the hard-working teenage singers in our SOTA program, is a source of endless inspiration and it shows what deeply-held human needs are fulfilled by the choral arts.”

The VocalEssence 2025-2026 Season will include:

Sarojini
Ted Mann Concert Hall, Minneapolis
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 4 PM

Experience a groundbreaking fusion where classical music traditions of South India and the West meet. Hear a North American premiere unlike any other by Minnesota’s own Shruthi Rajasekar. Hailed as “the most exciting piece of new music for choir and orchestra” by Canadian critic Natasha Gauthier, Sarojini (pronounced sa-RO-ji-ni) brings world-renowned Indian musicians Nirmala Rajasekar and Thanjavur K. Murgaboopathi, the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra together in a thrilling soundscape that tells the story of India’s fight for independence from the British Empire.

Ensemble Singers Featuring Roderick Williams
St. Michael Albertville High School Performing Arts Center, St. Michael
Friday, November 14, 2025, 7:30 PM

Hear the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers in their triumphant return from the Three Choirs Festival and tour of England. Lauded by The Times of London as “polished, bright and brilliantly balanced,” the Ensemble Singers present a reprise of their festival performance. They join forces with the award-winning baritone, Roderick Williams, OBE, to present Edvard Grieg’s magnificent Four Psalms, alongside works by American and British composers. The highly-regarded Concert Choir from St. Michael-Albertville High School will also make a special appearance on this program.

Welcome Christmas
Northrop, Minneapolis
Saturday, December 13, 2025, 4 PM

Embrace the wonder of the season as VocalEssence continues its cherished tradition of welcoming Christmas in song. Hear sounds of the season from around the globe performed by four VocalEssence choirs, brass, guitar, percussion, and Northrop’s spectacular pipe organ. Feel the holiday spirit move through you as you lend your voice to joy-filled sing-alongs that will leave you feeling uplifted, festive, and ready to celebrate the season.

An Evening with John Rutter
Cathedral of Saint Paul, St. Paul
Friday, January 16, 2026, 7:30 PM

Join VocalEssence as we celebrate John Rutter’s 80th birthday with an unforgettable evening of choral beauty. Sit back and revel in the magnificent sights and sounds of the Cathedral of Saint Paul as Rutter conducts the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers and chamber orchestra in his best-loved choral gems. The program features the Midwest premiere of I’ll Make Me a World, his latest masterwork inspired by James Weldon Johnson’s poem “The Creation.”

WITNESS: Symphony of Spirituals
Northrop, Minneapolis
Sunday, February 22, 2026, 4 PM

Lift your voice and sing for justice as VocalEssence presents songs of resilience and resistance that inspire us to continue the march towards freedom and racial reconciliation. Hear the rhythmic cry for freedom found in The Justice Symphony by Damien Geter, featuring anthems from the Civil Rights era. Experience the poignant and beautiful sounds of the Negro spiritual in the world premiere performance of two newly commissioned settings by B.E. Boykin. Co-presented with Northrop, WITNESS: Symphony of Spirituals will feature the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers, elder singers from the VocalEssence Vintage Voices, diverse teenage choir VocalEssence Singers of This Age, and symphony orchestra with G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conducting.

Ensemble Singers Featuring Greg Zelek
Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis
Friday, April 10, 2026, 7:30 PM

The majestic vaulted ceiling and warm acoustics of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral create the perfect setting for this virtuosic all-French program. Greg Zelek, “one of the country’s most exciting young organists” (Organiste), joins the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers—acclaimed for their “superbly blended sound” (Birmingham Post, UK) and “exemplary technique” (Minnesota Star Tribune)—performing works by Roger-Ducasse, Duruflé, Poulenc, and more. Marvel at the juxtaposition of stunning a cappella singing alongside the sonorous sounds of the four-manual Foley-Baker pipe organ.

Global Rhythms, Joyful Voices—Tickets available soon!
Ordway Concert Hall, Saint Paul
Sunday, May 3, 2026

Join the VocalEssence Chorus in an exploration of genre-defying selections that showcase the incredible versatility of the human voice. Span the globe with us as we highlight the diverse cultural influences that continue to shape American musical traditions. A spotlight will be placed on the music of VocalEssence ¡Cantaré!—an initiative that builds musical bridges between Mexico and Minnesota. Special guests, including the VocalEssence Singers Of This Age, will join this vibrant celebration.

Additional events during the season include VocalEssence Vintage Voices concerts, and a Community Sing, location to be announced.

Tickets go on sale June 10, 2025. For tickets, details about the season, and other information, please visit www.vocalessence.org.

VocalEssence, the choral organization Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones says “sings magnificently,” provides opportunities that draw upon the power of singing together to nurture community, inspire creativity, affirm the value of all persons, and expand the impact of choral music. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 and through its performance series has debuted more than 300 commissions and world premieres. VocalEssence Learning & Engagement programs help people of all ages bridge, create, and learn across cultures by connecting them with renowned choral experts to provide exceptional role models, grow community self-esteem, self-expression, and engagement. For more information, visit www.vocalessence.org.

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