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VOCALESSENCE DIALS BACK THE CLOCK FOR THE RADIO HOUR
Twin Cities ensemble celebrates the golden age of radio at A Prairie Home Companion’s Fitzgerald Theater—Mar. 14-15

MINNEAPOLIS — February 12, 2015 — The 32-voice Ensemble Singers and acclaimed Minneapolis actress Christina Baldwin will take center stage at the famed Minnesota Public Radio’s Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul on Sat., Mar. 14 at 8 p.m., and Sun., Mar. 15 at 4 p.m., in lyricist Gene Scheer and composer Jake Heggie’s new theatrical production The Radio Hour. Audience members are also invited to a pre-concert conversation with Heggie at 7 p.m. on Mar. 14, and at 3 p.m. on Mar. 15.

Commissioned by the Pacific Chorale, Conspirare, the Philadelphia Singers and VocalEssence, the innovative one-act theatrical production crosses Alice in Wonderland with the golden age of radio in a magical program about the power of singing to shape and give meaning to our lives. The first half of the concert will include the Ensemble Singers and the 100-voice VocalEssence Chorus singing a salute to radio legend Fred Waring — also known as “The Man Who Taught America How to Sing” — plus radio choral favorites.

“Part of our mission at VocalEssence is to continually rediscover music in new and different ways, which is why we chose to co-commission this wonderful opus by Jake and Gene,” said Philip Brunelle, founder and artistic director, VocalEssence. “These two have enjoyed a longstanding musical partnership that has produced a number of critically-acclaimed projects. Since Minnesota is the home of iconic radio programming such as A Prairie Home Companion, and given Jake and Gene’s incredible talent, I’ve no doubt that our audience will fall in love with The Radio Hour!”

Tickets for the Radio Hour concert are available for $10 and up through the Fitzgerald Box Office. For more information about this concert, please call 651-290-1200 or visit www.vocalessence.org.

VocalEssence, called “one of the irreplaceable music ensembles of our time” by Dana Gioia, past chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, impacts thousands of students, singers, and composers each year through its initiative programs, contests, and support for innovative art. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 and has debuted more than 150 commissions and world premieres. For more information, visit www.vocalessence.org.

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