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VOCALESSENCE TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD TO SHOWCASE THE VERSATILITY OF THE HUMAN VOICE IN ‘GLOBAL RHYTHMS, JOYFUL VOICES’ CONCERT  
Special guest collaborators, VocalEssence Chorus, and teenage choir Singers Of This Age perform at the Ordway–May 3 

 MINNEAPOLIS—April 14 2026—VocalEssence, one of the nation’s premier nonprofit choral and community-building organizations, announces that their 2025-2026 concert season will close out with the triumphant and uplifting program Global Rhythms, Joyful Voices on May 3rd at the Ordway Concert Hall in St. Paul.  

The VocalEssence Chorus will take the audience on an exploration of genre-defying selections with music from North and South America, Africa, and Asia. VocalEssence has worked to build a bridge between Mexico and Minnesota classrooms through the ¡Cantaré! program, including music by ¡Cantaré! composers that will be featured on this concert. 

Curated and conducted by G. Phillip Shoultz, III, Global Rhythms, Joyful Voices features puppetry from the Phantom Chorus Theatre, performances by Ghanaian Drummers and Dancers led by Nii Mensah, the Hmong Dance Ensemble from HOPE Community Academy (Pa Nhia Moua and Kyra Thor, directors), RGK Dance Ensemble (Renu G. Kumar, director), and Los Alegres Bailadores (Rebecca Moran Cusick, director) representing dance from Africa, Asia, India, and Mexico woven together with the VocalEssence Chorus, a group of more than 100 talented and enthusiastic singers from many different walks of life, and Singers Of This Age (SOTA), the organization’s teenage singers engaged in expanding what it means to be a choir.  

“As we approach the 250th birthday of the founding of our country, we reflect back on all the cultures who’ve contributed something unique to American music—and we’re going to celebrate them in all their fullness,” says G. Phillip Shoultz, III, VocalEssence associate artistic director. “In so much of the world, singing goes along with dancing, with storytelling—we’re folding those elements into the experience.” 

The celebration will spill out into the lobby and on the street surrounding the Ordway, where the fun will include a rainstick-making crafting station, food trucks, and special pre-concert performances. 

“VocalEssence is truly a community organization,” said Philip Brunelle, VocalEssence founder and artistic director, “and in the Twin Cities, we’re blessed to have traditions from all over the globe alive in our communities. Choral music maintains its life and vitality when it rubs elbows with other genres, and of course we influence them in return. When you get to see all the elements—the singing, drumming, and dancing all together—it’s extraordinary and you realize all over again what a gift it is to live in cities like ours.”  

Press images are available here.  

Global Rhythms, Joyful Voices will be performed at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 at the Ordway Concert Hall in Saint Paul. Tickets, $29–$49, are available at the Ordway box office online or by phone at 651-224-4222.  

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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