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HAIL! MINNESOTA, LAND OF 10,000 LAKES,
CHOIRS — AND COMPOSERS
VocalEssence opens 46th season with Made in Minnesota, including
premiere from hip hop artist Dessa and debut
of Dominick Argento’s latest opus

MINNEAPOLIS—August 20, 2014—Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence is going local for its 46th season opener Made in Minnesota, a concert chock full of pieces by Minnesota composers Pulitzer Prize-winner Dominick Argento, Friedheim prize-winner Stephen Paulus, Grammy award-winner Libby Larsen, and iconoclast Randall Davison, as well as next-generation vocal composers Jocelyn Hagen and hip hop sensation Dessa.

Conductors Philip Brunelle, Dale Warland, Sigrid Johnson, and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu will conduct the 32-voice Ensemble Singers, the 100-voice Chorus, and a chamber orchestra at Orchestra Hall on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.

Minnesota Public Radio’s classical music expert John Birge will lead a pre-concert conversation with Larsen, Hagen and Dessa at 3 p.m. The concert will include the debut of Minnesota Opera founder Dominick Argento’s Seasons — a piece written especially for Warland — as well as Dessa’s choral premiere and Minnesota’s greatest choral hits before ending on a high note with the state song ‘Hail! Minnesota’.

“VocalEssence is Minnesota-born and bred — and choral music has a long and rich history in our state. So, what better way to celebrate our home state than to open our 46th season with an homage to some of our finest choral artists and choral works,” said Philip Brunelle, founder and artistic director, VocalEssence. “And it wouldn’t be a VocalEssence performance if we didn’t innovate just a little bit, so we’re inviting hip hop fans, opera enthusiasts and everyone in between to share in this musical feast featuring Dessa’s choral premiere and a brand new piece by Dominick Argento.”

Single tickets for the Made in Minnesota concert are available for $10 and up. Youth ages 6-18 and college students with a valid college ID are eligible for half-price tickets. For more information about this concert and to purchase tickets, please call 612-371-5656 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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