VocalEssence WITNESS School Program

The VocalEssence WITNESS School Program is an exciting opportunity for Minnesota students and teachers to learn more about the contributions African Americans have made, and are making, to the fine arts.

We acknowledge that these past two years have brought many unprecedented challenges and hardships to our schools, teachers and students. This year, thanks to generous support from our program sponsors, we are pleased to offer tickets to the Young People’s Concert at Orchestra Hall as well as two days of Teaching Artist workshops completely free of charge! While schools will not need to pay per ticket to attend the concert, schools are responsible for the full cost of busing to and from the concert.

Register now for the 2022-2023 VocalEssence WITNESS School Program!

Register Here

2022-2023 VocalEssence WITNESS School Program

Joe Davis with an orange background, Photo Credit: Ryan Stopera — Photo Credit: Ryan Stopera

In 2022-2023, Minneapolis-based artist, author, educator, and speaker Joe Davis and The New Renaissance join VocalEssence choirs in a call for the revival of love, the rebirth of peace, and the emergence of a community where violence ceases. Through interactive workshops with Teaching Artists, and while attending the Young People’s Concerts at Orchestra Hall, students will experience a fusion of musical styles interwoven with stories of struggle, resilience, and celebration as we honor lives lost and renew our commitment to a freedom that is wide enough in which all can thrive.

Students and teachers will be provided with resources and opportunities to learn about Joe Davis and his poetry, spoken word, and songs. The program will explore themes of showing up, loving one another, creating peace, and celebrating the power of community through classroom activities, videos, and interactive workshops with a WITNESS Teaching Artist that explore poetry through dance, movement, singing, and song creation.

Each partner school is able to take advantage of several program components that provide an enriching integrative experience for both students and teachers, including: Teacher Orientation, Classroom Resources, Workshops with a VocalEssence Teaching Artist, and attendance at the WITNESS Young People’s Concert.

About Joe Davis

Joe Davis is a nationally-touring artist, educator, and speaker based in Minneapolis, MN. He employs poetry, music, theater, and dance to shape culture.

Teacher Orientation

The annual WITNESS Teacher Orientation will take place from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 1, 2022 in Guild Hall at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.

For teachers who were not able to attend the October 1 Teacher Orientation, we will be hosting another in-person mini-orientation on Thursday, November 3, 2022 from 4:30-6:00PM at Plymouth Congregational Church. We encourage all teachers who were not able to attend October 1 to attend this session to receive your curricular materials and learn about implementing the program successfully this year.

Participating schools are asked to send at least one participating teacher, but all participating teachers are encouraged to attend.

Cost to attend: $15 per attendee

Registration: Click here to register your attendance!

At orientation, teachers will:

receive professional development by participating in activities led by VocalEssence Associate Artistic Director G. Phillip Shoultz, III and the VocalEssence Teaching Artists,
learn about this year’s program theme and special guest artists,
receive classroom resource materials,
enjoy a boxed lunch, and
earn up to 3 clock hours of CEU credit.

COVID-19 Protocols: VocalEssence and Plymouth Congregational Church are currently operating within a policy of masks being optional. You are welcome to wear a mask, or not. We ask that you stay home if you’re feeling ill. All policies are subject to change and will adhere to recommendations by the Minnesota Department of Health and CDC.

Teacher Resources

VocalEssence WITNESS Resources

Participating teachers have free access to an expanded selection of workshop videos and resources created by VocalEssence Teaching Artists and staff, as well as worksheets and activities that will accompany several poems by special guest artist, Joe Davis.

To access the VocalEssence Resource Hub, you need to be a registered Partner School. If you are a current Partner School teacher, please contact robert@vocalessence.org for access.

Artist Workshops

Students and teachers are given the opportunity to learn from our VocalEssence Teaching Artists through live, in-class workshops. Teaching Artists explore the yearly program theme through the lens of their artistic discipline, creating an integrative academic experience for students combining the study of African American culture with art, music, social studies, literature, character building, and other areas of school curriculum.

Booking your Teaching Artist

The primary contact teacher will receive an email from VocalEssence Learning and Engagement staff with a link to the Workshop/Residency request form, where teachers will submit their preferred workshop dates, class schedule and other information that will assist with the scheduling process, as well as share what they hope their students will gain from this experience. VocalEssence staff will then pair the school with an appropriate Teaching Artist who will be a good fit for that school.

All participating teachers are expected to attend a planning meeting with the selected Teaching Artist, at least 2-3 weeks in advance of the first workshop date to allow plenty of time for planning and preparation.

VocalEssence will provide the teacher/Teaching Artist team with a checklist of important questions and discussion topics that will help guide the planning meeting conversation, preparing everyone for the workshop experience and bringing everyone onto the same page with shared learning goals and expectations. A signed copy of the planning checklist will need to be emailed back to Rob Graham following the planning meeting.

Young People's Concert

We are delighted to invite students and teachers back to Orchestra Hall for an immersive 50-minute, participatory musical experience, featuring VocalEssence Associate Artistic Director G. Phillip Shoultz, III, the VocalEssence Teaching Artists performing alongside the VocalEssence Singers Of This Age, members of the VocalEssence Chorus, and our very special guests, Joe Davis and The New Renaissance! Through spoken word, a wide range of musical styles, and movement, students will get to raise their voices as they celebrate the reawakening of love and fellowship within our communities.

The VocalEssence WITNESS Young People’s Concerts at Orchestra Hall will take place on Monday, February 27, 2023 at 10 AM and 11:35 AM.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: the 10:00AM performance is SOLD OUT! We still have plenty of capacity in the 11:35AM performance for schools who join the program late.

Cost: $0.00/ticket – that’s right, this year, tickets are FREE!
This year, in waiving the cost of the ticket fee, we will not be able to offer the partial bus reimbursement that has been available in past years.

Want your school to participate in the 2022-23 VocalEssence WITNESS School Program? Click the button below to register today!

Register