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December 2015
FAMILY CONCERT: Star of Wonder
Come listen, clap, dance, and sing at Star of Wonder, our annual one-hour family Christmas concert. Kids sit up close as members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers perform familiar holiday music, including a rousing (if a little goofy) “Twelve Days of Christmas” sing-along. Bring the whole family. Baby bottles and teddy bears welcome! VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Dancers from Folwell School, Performing Arts Magnet Philip Brunelle, conductor A fee of $3.50 per ticket is included in listed prices; all orders will incur…
Find out more »CONCERT: Welcome Christmas, Roseville
Advance ticket sales are closed, but tickets will be available for purchase at the door beginning at 7 PM. Swing in the holiday season with VocalEssence and Nils Lindberg’s A Christmas Cantata for chorus and big band. Blending jazz-infused style with traditional melodies, Lindberg’s cantata is an “iridescent medley that invigorates, inspires and swings in equal measure” (allaboutjazz.com). World premieres of two contest-winning carols for choir and trumpet will blow you away, and familiar carols for voices and brass will…
Find out more »CONCERT: Welcome Christmas, Roseville
Advance ticket sales are closed, but tickets will be available for purchase at the door beginning at 7 PM. Swing in the holiday season with VocalEssence and Nils Lindberg’s A Christmas Cantata for chorus and big band. Blending jazz-infused style with traditional melodies, Lindberg’s cantata is an “iridescent medley that invigorates, inspires and swings in equal measure” (allaboutjazz.com). World premieres of two contest-winning carols for choir and trumpet will blow you away, and familiar carols for voices and brass will…
Find out more »CONCERT: Welcome Christmas, Minneapolis
Advance ticket sales are closed, but tickets will be available for purchase at the door beginning at 2:30 PM. Swing in the holiday season with VocalEssence and Nils Lindberg’s A Christmas Cantata for chorus and big band. Blending jazz-infused style with traditional melodies, Lindberg’s cantata is an “iridescent medley that invigorates, inspires and swings in equal measure” (allaboutjazz.com). World premieres of two contest-winning carols for choir and trumpet will blow you away, and familiar carols for voices and brass will have…
Find out more »January 2016
TOUR: River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain, Moorhead
Supported by an Arts Tour grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Don Shelby as Mark Twain go on the road to Northern Minnesota to celebrate life on the Mississippi River. Through choral music and the spoken word, VocalEssence takes listeners on a musical journey of the past and present—choral masterpieces, favorite folksongs, traditional spirituals, and Americana—all paired with the words of Mark Twain. VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Don Shelby, actor Sara Pajunen, fiddle…
Find out more »February 2016
CONCERT: VocalEssence WITNESS: Morehouse College Glee Club
This performance has limited availability. Please keep checking back as tickets may be turned back for resale. Low notes will be high points when the internationally-renowned Morehouse College Glee Club teams up with VocalEssence to celebrate male singing. Founded in Atlanta in 1867, Morehouse College remains the only all-male historically black college in the nation. The Glee Club is known for its musical precision, wide-ranging repertoire and distinguished alumni. VocalEssence and the Glee Club will share the stage with guest…
Find out more »March 2016
CONCERT: Four Saints in Three Acts
Called “ebullient, grand and unusual” and “a high camp masterpiece” by critics, Four Saints in Three Acts changed American opera when it premiered in 1934. Set in 16th-century Spain, the playfully humorous Four Saints traces the lives of saints on Earth through a witty libretto by Gertrude Stein and a stunning score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Virgil Thomson. Collaborating with director/choreographer Carl Flink and his award-winning Black Label Movement, VocalEssence takes up the challenge of this path-breaking and distinctly American…
Find out more »CONCERT: Four Saints in Three Acts
Called “ebullient, grand and unusual” and “a high camp masterpiece” by critics, Four Saints in Three Acts changed American opera when it premiered in 1934. Set in 16th-century Spain, the playfully humorous Four Saints traces the lives of saints on Earth through a witty libretto by Gertrude Stein and a stunning score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Virgil Thomson. Collaborating with director/choreographer Carl Flink and his award-winning Black Label Movement, VocalEssence takes up the challenge of this path-breaking and distinctly American…
Find out more »CONCERT: Four Saints in Three Acts
Called “ebullient, grand and unusual” and “a high camp masterpiece” by critics, Four Saints in Three Acts changed American opera when it premiered in 1934. Set in 16th-century Spain, the playfully humorous Four Saints traces the lives of saints on Earth through a witty libretto by Gertrude Stein and a stunning score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Virgil Thomson. Collaborating with director/choreographer Carl Flink and his award-winning Black Label Movement, VocalEssence takes up the challenge of this path-breaking and distinctly American…
Find out more »April 2016
TOUR: River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain, Detroit Lakes
Supported by an Arts Tour grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Don Shelby as Mark Twain go on the road to Northern Minnesota to celebrate life on the Mississippi River. Through choral music and the spoken word, VocalEssence takes listeners on a musical journey of the past and present—choral masterpieces, favorite folksongs, traditional spirituals, and Americana—all paired with the words of Mark Twain. VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Don Shelby, actor Sara Pajunen, fiddle…
Find out more »TOUR: River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain, Mora
Supported by an Arts Tour grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Don Shelby as Mark Twain go on the road to Northern Minnesota to celebrate life on the Mississippi River. Through choral music and the spoken word, VocalEssence takes listeners on a musical journey of the past and present—choral masterpieces, favorite folksongs, traditional spirituals, and Americana—all paired with the words of Mark Twain. VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Don Shelby, actor Sara Pajunen, fiddle…
Find out more »TOUR: River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain, Bigfork
Supported by an Arts Tour grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Don Shelby as Mark Twain go on the road to Northern Minnesota to celebrate life on the Mississippi River. Through choral music and the spoken word, VocalEssence takes listeners on a musical journey of the past and present—choral masterpieces, favorite folksongs, traditional spirituals, and Americana—all paired with the words of Mark Twain. VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Don Shelby, actor Sara Pajunen, fiddle…
Find out more »CONCERT: Listeners’ Choice LIVE
Hear your favorite choral pieces performed live by VocalEssence! In partnership with Classical Minnesota Public Radio’s Choral Stream (heard nationally on YourClassical.org), VocalEssence will perform a countdown of the top 15 a cappella and piano-accompanied choral pieces, voted on by you and listeners from all 50 states. Will number one be Aaron Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia” or John Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music?” Join us and be the first to hear the winners. VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers Philip Brunelle,…
Find out more »CONCERT: Listeners’ Choice LIVE
Hear your favorite choral pieces performed live by VocalEssence! In partnership with Classical Minnesota Public Radio’s Choral Stream (heard nationally on YourClassical.org), VocalEssence will perform a countdown of the top 15 a cappella and piano-accompanied choral pieces, voted on by you and listeners from all 50 states. Will number one be Aaron Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia” or John Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music?” Join us and be the first to hear the winners. VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers Philip Brunelle,…
Find out more »May 2016
FAMILY CONCERT: VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Community Concert 2016
Experience the music of our southern neighbors at a multi-generational fiesta! Prominent Mexican composers work as composers-in-residence with school choirs, community choruses, and VocalEssence to bring the sounds of Mexico to Minnesota. Join us for a family-friendly, bilingual music celebration! Featuring: Longfellow Alternative High School (Carnegie Hall Lullaby Project Partner), Minneapolis Folwell School, Performing Arts Magnet, Minneapolis Hiawatha Leadership Academies, Minneapolis Central High School, Saint Paul VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Season Sponsor Concert Sponsors Anna M. Heilmaier Charitable Foundation Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation…
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