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VOCALESSENCE OPENS 58th SEASON WITH “LINEAGE,” INCLUDING A RARE PERFORMANCE OF BERLIOZ’S TE DEUM FEATURING ORCHESTRA, 12 HARPS, AND 200 SINGERS
Grand production will immerse the audience in French choral artistry in one of the few venues up to the task–October 30 at the Cathedral of Saint Paul   

MINNEAPOLIS—September 15, 2026–VocalEssence will open its 58th season on October 30 at the Cathedral of Saint Paul with Lineage: French Choral Masterworks. The program pairs an epic performance of Hector Berlioz’s monumental Te Deum with masterworks from a chain of French composers and their proteges spanning more than one hundred years.   

High resolution press images are available here. 

“Two hundred voices, a full symphony orchestra, twelve harps–at VocalEssence, we get excited by massive undertakings like this,” said Philip Brunelle, VocalEssence founder and artistic director. “Berlioz composed the piece with the pipe organ at the back of the sanctuary and the orchestra in front, and the Saint Paul Cathedral is one of the few venues that can deliver that configuration. For the audience, this will be choral music as they have never experienced it–rare, reverberant, and breathtaking! 

Lineage: French Choral Masterworks features tenor Andy McCullough, the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers, a Festival Choir, and symphony orchestra, with Philip Brunelle and G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conducting.  

“It makes so much sense for VocalEssence to recognize the links between the French composers in ‘Lineage’,” says G. Phillip Shoultz, III, VocalEssence associate artistic director, “because we are a torch-passing organization. We’re showing audiences the music of Charles-Marie Widor and next to it, they can hear the work of his student Marcel Dupré. They can hear Maurice Duruflé and Francis Poulenc, and then Pierre Villette, who was influenced by both. For years, we’ve commissioned new pieces and even matched new composers with mentors–this is how you build art that endures over the centuries.” 

Lineage: French Choral Masterworks will be performed on October 30, 2026, from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, 239 Selby Avenue, Saint Paul. Tickets, $30-$45, are available now. For more, 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 350 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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