This spring, the VocalEssence Board and Staff are excited to embark on a multi-year journey into Intercultural Organizational Development to assist in furthering our Inclusion, Access, and Equity commitment. After interviewing multiple consultants, the VocalEssence Executive Committee of the Board has approved working with Beth Zemsky. Beth comes to VocalEssence after decades of experience in… Read More →
The vision of VocalEssence is to transform lives by singing together, assuring a place for everyone’s voice. One way we have been living out this vision is through our work with residents who attend the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul and the Senior Center at the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis, many… Read More →
Thank you to the 275 people who took the Welcome Christmas 2018 Survey. The VocalEssence staff analyzes the results and uses the information to plan for better performances in the future. Below is a summary of the results. 23% of attendees were attending their very first VocalEssence concert, and 32% of respondents attended VocalEssence concerts… Read More →
For Artistic Director Philip Brunelle, January began with meetings in Washington DC with Senator Tina Smith and Congressman Dean Phillips—both of them very supportive of VocalEssence! He also met with the Norwegian Cultural Consul, with Alberto Fierro (Executive Director of the Mexican Cultural Institute), with Ann Meier Baker of the NEA Music Division and our dear… Read More →
As a direct response to the Listening Zone Initiative recommendation to partner in new ways with specific cultural communities, we are working with local partners to encourage Spanish speaking families to attend our Family Series events this season. We have hired Gustavo Mancilla of MLatino Media to assist with strategy and translation services to get… Read More →
Our VocalEssence WITNESS School Program workshops are in full swing, with all eight VocalEssence Teaching Artists busy conducting workshops with more than 4,300 students from 32 elementary, middle and high schools, through the lens of their artistic medium, around the subject of trailblazing African American and African women in our community. Recently, at Alice Smith… Read More →
Let’s fill the hall! Orchestra Hall, that is. 4,245 students are slated to attend the VocalEssence WITNESS Young People’s Concerts this February, and celebrate the amazing African and African American women who change our world for the better! But here’s the catch… The cost of the VocalEssence WITNESS program and Young People’s Concerts is $28.50… Read More →
Thank you to the 147 people who took the Music for a Grand Cathedral Survey. The VocalEssence staff analyzes the results and uses the information to plan for better performances in the future. Below is a summary of the results. A third of attendees were attending their very first VocalEssence concert, and another third attend… Read More →
Since 1973, when the first commission by VocalEssence led Dominick Argento to compose Jonah and the Whale, the organization has ardently supported new music. More than 300 commissions later, VocalEssence Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle explains how commissioning works. Why does VocalEssence commission so much original work? Just as we don’t want to lose sight of the composers… Read More →
The Faire Starre is the latest “Welcome Christmas” commission of VocalEssence, following wonderful pieces by Libby Larsen, Conrad Susa and many others. Nico Muhly is one of the ‘bright lights’ in the world of choral composers – his most recent success was his opera, Marnie, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera a month ago. The Faire… Read More →
VocalEssence is thrilled to announce that members of the VocalEssence Chorus, our youth ensemble, Singers Of This Age, and Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III will join Josh Groban on stage when the global superstar’s Bridges Tour comes to the Xcel Energy Center on November 2. The combined group of singers will join Mr. Groban… Read More →
VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III surprised Artistic Director Philip Brunelle at the 50th Anniversary Concert on October 7, 2018 with a new song arranged by a self-proclaimed “biggest fan” Alice Parker. Read the lyrics below. An Ode to Philip Brunelle and Vocal Essence on the Celebration of their Fiftieth Anniversary (sung to the refrain… Read More →
The 50th Anniversary Concert and Dinner on October 7, 2018 was an evening filled with special moments. Governor Dayton proclaimed it VocalEssence Together We Sing Day. Senator Tina Smith began the festivities with a beautiful tribute to the organization. Acclaimed composer Alice Parker wrote an arrangement to surprise Artistic Director Philip Brunelle. Read the lyrics… Read More →
October is off to a rousing start for Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III. He’s launched the second season of the VocalEssence Singers Of This Age, as they prepare for their Identity concert on November 8, 2018. He spent two days training VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! composer, Pablo Mendoza, for workshops in our partner schools. This past… Read More →
In the fall of 2017, the Board of Directors voted to diversify the audience, singers, board, staff and vendors by age and by race. Prior to determining what exactly would change and how we would accomplish this, we sought to listen to members of our community specifically around the following: (1) what barriers may exist… Read More →
