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Nils Lindberg | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Nils Lindberg. Nils Lindberg b.1933 Swedish composer and pianist, Nils Lindberg, is best-known for his works and arrangements for performers including Duke Ellington and Judy Garland. The music which he creates, whether written for choir,…  Read More

Otto Olsson | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Otto Olsson. Otto Olsson 1874-1964 Swedish organist and composer Otto Olsson is best known for his prolific compositions for organ. He studied organ with Lagergren and theory and composition with Dente at the Swedish Royal…  Read More

Wilhelm Stenhammar | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Wilhelm Stenhammar. Wilhelm Stenhammar 1871-1927 Wilhelm Stenhammar was a Swedish pianist, self-taught composer, and conductor whose pioneering compositions evolved over three musical periods. He grew up in a home where the arts were strongly encouraged:…  Read More

Sir John Stainer | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Sir John Stainer.  John Stainer 1840-1901 Sir John Stainer was an English organist, church composer, and a pioneering early musicologist. As a boy, Stainer sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral and was appointed…  Read More

A PANDEMIC DIDN’T STOP THIS CHOIR FROM SINGING

By Amy Melin | Twin Cities PBS https://www.tptoriginals.org/a-pandemic-didnt-stop-this-choir-from-singing/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post-mno&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&utm_content=pandemic-choir&fbclid=IwAR2LJLX2MpMIUFD5wdvl5ZE14vBdo3yLwlQ1kiBk-HRTvUhaCOWkHNlSljA When COVID-19 first showed up in the U.S., G. Phillip Shoultz III, like many Americans, had no idea what was ahead. “All of us naively thought this is just going to be a few weeks and we’ll get back to our lives,” he reflects. But the director of…  Read More

Bob Chilcott

Bob Chilcott | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Bob Chilcott. Bob Chilcott b. 1955 Bob Chilcott is a British conductor, singer, and composer of music that choirs at all levels love to sing. Chilcott sang in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, first…  Read More

VocalEssence Celebrates Black Families with Father’s Day Livestream

By Angela Johnson | Edina Magazine Published: JUNE 2020 https://edinamag.com/vocalessence-celebrates-black-families-fathers-day-livestream?fbclid=IwAR19v75-DbqxW-NYpw-o_W-sLs-8rjU4VvjvBVqCrEUsx_hs_uWPcNrvEvI VocalEssence presents a livestream sing-along and concert to honor black fathers. PHOTO BY: KYNDELL HARKNESS   G. Phillip Shoultz III of St. Louis Park, Minn. can picture the Wendy’s fast food restaurant in Atlanta, Ga. where an Atlanta police officer shot Rayshard Brooks following a struggle…  Read More

The 10 concerts that shone brightest in 2019 on Minnesota’s classical scene

By Terry Blain | Star Tribune Published: December 20, 2019 — 8:20AM http://www.startribune.com/the-10-concerts-that-shone-brightest-in-2019-on-minnesota-s-classical-scene/566373282/ 1. “Candide,” VocalEssence, March 21: Leonard Bernstein’s Voltaire operetta is tough to stage, but Theater Latté Da’s Peter Rothstein recast it brilliantly as a 1930s radio broadcast. VocalEssence made the music sparkle, with Bradley Greenwald narrating. 2. St. John Passion, Oratory Bach Ensemble,…  Read More

Postcards from Mexico-Day 3

TUESDAY 8/27/2019 Hands   We each went our own ways this morning and early afternoon. Some visited Frieda Kahlo’s house Casa Azul, some the Museo Nacional de Antropología, and some Castillo de Chapultepec. There is no end to the beauty and wonders of Mexico City. At 3:30 we put on our concert clothes and piled…  Read More

Where in the World are the Conductors – July 2019

In his “wonderful and busy” June and July, Artistic Director Philip Brunelle has been making music with old friends and new.  He returned to the podium to conduct the Lake Harriet Pops Orchestra, a post he held for 10 seasons, and filled the air outside the Lake Harriet Bandshell with the music of Bernstein and…  Read More

A Few Highlights from VocalEssence WITNESS: Underground Railroad

In case you missed it, these were just a few high points from the 2017 VocalEssence WITNESS concert at Orchestra Hall: 1. Hearing songs from three local composers (Daniel Kantor’s “River Holy”, Emily Feld’s “The Gift to Sing”, and Jake Runestad’s “We Can Mend the Sky”). The concert served as the world premiere of Feld’s…  Read More

‘Brothers, Sing On’: 200-Voice High School Male Chorus Rocks Rehearsal

Students from six Twin Cities high schools gathered on Monday, November 16 at Southwest High School in Minneapolis for their first rehearsal with VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III to prepare for their performance with VocalEssence and the Morehouse College Glee Club for the WITNESS concerts in February 2016. Students learned five songs, rehearsed…  Read More

Star Tribune: Minneapolis composer Jake Runestad connects with veterans’ struggles

Young Minneapolis composer Jake Runestad connects with the struggles of war veterans in “Dreams of the Fallen.” By Kristin Tillotson, Star Tribune OCTOBER 4, 2015 — 2:00PM Photos by RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • rtsong.taatarii@startribune.com Minneapolis composer Jake Runestad, a rising figure on the national classical scene, ties topical issues to his music. On Sunday VocalEssence performs…  Read More

Star Tribune: L’Homme Dieu opens theater season at Alexandria: L’Homme Dieu is an outpost of the civilized arts amid the natural beauty of summer in Minnesota.

By Graydon Royce Star Tribune July 2, 2015 — 3:00 pm Video (03:27): It takes Don Shelby two hours to transform into Mark Twain for the L’Homme Dieu Theatre production of River Songs with Mark Twain in Alexandria, Minn. Alexandria, Minn. – The show started about midnight. High above the campfire audience at Theatre L’Homme…  Read More