The WITNESS: Let Freedom Ring concert on Sunday, February 8, will find Orchestra Hall ringing with uplifting messages of love and peace for all humankind, brought by the Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness, directed by Gary Hines, as they join with… Read more »
On Arts Advocacy Day, February 19, VocalEssence staff members gathered with like-minded art lovers and shared with legislators the importance of the arts to our lives, communities and economy. Senator Bill Weber from southwestern Minnesota was one of many legislators… Read more »
Two videos featuring hip-hop artist Dessa performing with VocalEssence at the Made in Minnesota concert in October have debuted on the National Public Radio website. “Skeleton Key” was written by Dessa, and “The Good Fight” was written by Dessa and… Read more »
Dessa and Remix Composer-Mentor Tim Takach share their excitement about VocalEssence ReMix, a new program that offers up to four talented composers/songwriters a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship as they each write a choral work suitable for high school and… Read more »
If you are wondering what you missed during the first weekend of Welcome Christmas concerts, these two reviews will fill you in and inspire you to attend one of this weekend’s performances. “The highlight of this holiday season’s choral concerts… Read more »
Sara Pajunen, who describes herself in this video as a “violinist and fiddler of Finnish-American ancestry,” shares why she is excited to be part of the upcoming Welcome Christmas concerts. It should come as no surprise, since the program celebrates… Read more »
VocalEssence has won an Arts Learning grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to expand our ¡Cantaré! program to Rochester, Minnesota. This means that several schools and community choirs in Rochester will have three-week residencies with Mexican composers Rodrigo Cadet and… Read more »
You may have seen them on national television—“From the Top at Carnegie Hall,” NBC’s Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting, and “Good Morning America” for starters. And their founder and conductor, MacArthur “genius” Fellow Francisco J. Núñez, was recently profiled on Fox… Read more »
If John Nuechterlein’s organization, the American Composers Forum (ACF), resembles in any way, shape or form the one founded by Philip Brunelle at VocalEssence, that’s probably not completely accidental. The symmetry between the two men—and the non-profits—is striking if not… Read more »
On their most recent international tour, the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to attend the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music as part of the VocalEssence Asia Pacific Tour, August 9 – 13. In Seoul they performed… Read more »
There is a group of young professionals in the Twin Cities who envision a world where choral music resonates with all people. And while they pursue a broad range of vocations and hail from a variety of locations, they are… Read more »
The VocalEssence Education staff led the annual WITNESS Teacher Orientation Seminar on Saturday, September 27, 2014. This was a wonderful opportunity for teachers in our partner schools to learn all they need to know about their school’s participation in the WITNESS… Read more »