Artistic Director Philip Brunelle and Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III have been busy preparing for a safe and innovative 52nd season of VocalEssence. Online and physically distanced rehearsals have begun with VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers and will begin soon for our youth choir VocalEssence Singers Of This Age.

Philip Brunelle has begun releasing the next 100 episodes of his wildly successful Musical Moments. “When I began “Musical Moments” last March I had no idea how many composers I would feature – though I knew that we had hundreds who have been heard in one concert or another during these 52 VocalEssence seasons!  My original thought was to present a composer each day (Monday-Friday), hopefully bringing joy and delight to anyone listening and sharing the unique personality of each of them.  Now, 125 composers later, “Musical Moments” continues strong, all of them are archived, and dozens more will be featured in the months ahead!

One of the special results of this endeavor has been the collection of all these composer stories and their music.  And, to make this material available to conductors, young and old, we were fortunate to acquire Emma Bergman as an intern through the support of the Piper Center at St. Olaf College.  Now this material can be accessed by students and teachers to further their knowledge of so many choral composers – and with more to come!  I am so pleased that there is a rich store of choral composers in our history from which we can draw – a wonderful legacy for VocalEssence.”

G. Phillip Shoultz, III continues to keep us singing through Take 5 every day. He has now surpassed 200 consecutive live streams of the program! Sing with him every morning at 9 am (or when you are able) on Facebook or YouTube.