VocalEssence – Philip Brunelle, artistic director

GRAND RAPIDS -- America long has been a melting pot of music from all over the world.

That's how jazz evolved, when melody and rhythm of African-Americans met with harmonies and musical instruments that originated in Europe.

Now imagine a merger of bluegrass with sacred choral music.

Philip Brunelle, artistic director of the Minnesota-based choral ensemble VocalEssence, was intrigued by the idea.

"People who know me know I'd consider anything," he said. "But I didn't want it to be a square peg in a round hole."

The 32-member VocalEssence Ensemble Singers together with the bluegrass band Monroe Crossing on Saturday will give the Michigan premiere of "The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass."

They will appear as part of the Artist Series of Calvin College to perform the original work by Carol Barnett.

"People on both sides were just charmed by how honest and friendly this music is," said Brunelle, who founded the ensemble in 1969.

Keillor, too

The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers aren't new to unusual collaborations.

The ensemble appears frequently on National Public Radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" and has made two recordings with the radio show's host and creator, Garrison Keillor.

The professional ensemble, part of a much larger chorus of 100 volunteers, has performed twice, by invitation, in the World Choral Music Symposium. Their recorded works include "The Witness Collection," a four-CD set of music written by 20th century African-American composers, as well as the just-released "A Bluegrass Mass."

Calvin College professor Pearl Shangkuan, music director of the Calvin Alumni Choir, recently participated in a workshop sponsored by Chorus America. Conductors worked with VocalEssence over three days.

"From the first to the last conductor, they sang their best, even though I know they must have been dead tired," Shangkuan said.

Besides "A Bluegrass Mass," VocalEssence Ensemble Singers on Saturday also will perform a variety of music by U.S. composers. The works form a "wide brush of what American music can be all about," Brunelle said.

"I think American music is eclectic. There's a lot of styles that are out there," Brunelle said. "I think it's important for us to celebrate the composers we have."

Workshop

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, VocalEssence will participate in a workshop sponsored by the Michigan chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.

Meanwhile, Barnett, the composer of "A Bluegrass Mass," will join Calvin College professor David Fuentes for his fifth annual workshop. "Might You be a Composer?" is for high school students interested in writing music.

Brunelle and his assistant director, Sigrid Johnson, will arrive Friday to work with two of Calvin College's student ensembles, Capella and the Women's Chorale.

Guest clinicians often offer the same instructions that regular conductors do, Brunelle said. They just put it differently.