VocalEssence – Philip Brunelle, artistic director

Recognized for his robust but beautiful voice and commanding stage presence, young American tenor Jason Collins has performed leading roles with the San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and Glimmerglass Opera. Also accomplished on the concert platform, Mr. Collins has performed with Sir Andrew Davis and the Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, to name a few.

Baritone James Bohn has been in constant demand over the past thirty years in a wide range of venues. He has appeared as soloist with most of the major choral and instrumental groups in the area, and performed regularly with The Minnesota Opera, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio show, and concerts of VocalEssence under music director, Philip Brunelle. James is featured on the Virgin Classics label in recordings of Aaron Copland’s opera The Tender Land and Benjamin Britten’s operetta Paul Bunyan among others.

Alto Krista J. Palmquist enjoys a busy career as a soloist and music educator in the Twin Cities. She is a member of the music faculty of University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where she teaches applied and class voice lessons as well as vocal and choral pedagogy. A professional chorister, Ms. Palmquist is a member of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and previously sang with the Dale Warland Singers. She also serves as cantor at the Church of St. Columba and the Church of the Assumption, both in Saint Paul.

Tenor Dan Dressen is a professor of music at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. His operatic experience includes roles with Washington Opera, Cleveland Lyric Opera and several roles with The Minnesota Opera, including the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath. He has also performed with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Chorale, Dale Warland Singers, Metropolitan Symphony, North Star Opera and Nautilus Music-Theater, and has appeared several times with Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion.

Soprano Maria Jette has performed extensively on the concert stage, appearing with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and many others. She has been a regular guest at the Oregon Bach, Victoria Bach and San Luis Obispo Mozart Festivals, the Oregon Festival of American Music, and on Public Radio International’s A Prairie Home Companion.

The St. Olaf Choir, with 75 mixed voices, is the premier a cappella choir in the United States. For more than three-quarters of a century, the choir has set a standard of choral excellence and remained at the forefront of choral artistry. Directed since 1990 by Anton Armstrong, the St. Olaf Choir continues to develop the tradition that originated with its founder, F. Melius Christiansen. In 1996, the choir marked the 125^th anniversary of his birth.

The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus is an award-winning Chorus that has built a solid reputation for musical excellence and adventuresome programming. With over 140 singing members, the Chorus and OutLoud! produce and present a full concert season every year and are also featured at a number of other special appearances and outreach programs locally, throughout the Midwest and the nation.

Founded in 2004, The Singers—Minnesota Choral Artists presents exciting and innovative concert programming that connects music from the past with wonderful new works by today's composers.

Anchored in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, The Singers also presents concerts throughout Minnesota and the Midwest. Believing in the importance of music education, collaborative concerts with school-aged choirs are included in each season's calendar.

The National Lutheran Choir, under the direction of Dr. David Cherwien, seeks to strengthen, renew and preserve the Lutheran heritage of choral music through the highest standards of performance and literature.

The choir performs literature from the entire spectrum of sacred choral music, with and without instrumental accompaniment. The choir's rich and diverse repertoire ranges from early chant to new compositions and from simple folk anthems to complex orchestral masterworks.