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 of the Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Here’s a song for VocalEssence
As it leaves its adolescence;
We salute its incandescence
On this anniversary.
And its leader luminescent,
P. Brunelle is always prescient;
Both have grown through deliquescence
To rich maturity.
They’ve avoided obsolescence,
Even ills and convalescence,
And achieved the gold quintessence
Of choral mastery.
So we sing the efflorescence
Of the group called VocalEssence,
And its lasting iridescence
From sea to shining sea!