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January 2017
FESTIVAL: Together We Sing
Join us for Together We Sing, a free Saturday festival where we will explore songs of hope and unity from a wide array of cultural perspectives, engage in conversation, and fellowship over food. Special musical guests from the community will join us throughout the day to enrich our experience. Now, more than ever, we need to raise our voices together in song! Melanie DeMore, guest artist ComMUSICation G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor Festival Schedule 9 am-12 pm: Session #1 (rehearsal…
Find out more »February 2017
BACKSTAGE PASS: VocalEssence WITNESS Dress Rehearsal
Head backstage at Orchestra Hall to meet guest artist Melanie DeMore, Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III, and participants of VocalEssence WITNESS, which offers in-school workshops for students and invites schools to attend the VocalEssence WITNESS Young People’s Concerts. Stay to hear a sneak peek of the VocalEssence WITNESS: Underground Railroad concert dress rehearsal.
Find out more »CONCERT CONVERSATION: VocalEssence WITNESS: Underground Railroad
Join us for a concert conversation with vocal activist Melanie DeMore hosted by Randall Davidson, Executive Producer of the Northern Voice Festival. Thank you to our sponsor
Find out more »CONCERT: VocalEssence WITNESS: Underground Railroad
Come prepared to sing, clap and stomp along the path to freedom with Melanie DeMore. Following her sold-out concert in 2014, Melanie returns to raise up immigrant voices past and present through songs of liberation and freedom, illuminating Minnesota’s historic role as a sanctuary for the oppressed. VocalEssence Chorus Franklin Middle School Chorus, Minneapolis North High School Chorus, Minneapolis Parkway Montessori and Community Middle School Chorus, Saint Paul Johnson Senior High School Chorus, Saint Paul Melanie DeMore, guest artist G.…
Find out more »March 2017
CONCERT: Welcome to Minneapolis
Advance ticket reservations for this event are now closed. Tickets are still available; on-site ticketing at the Convention Center will open at 6:30 PM. Welcome to the North Star state where the singers are bountiful, the conductors are inspiring, and the composers are above average. As part of the National American Choral Directors Conference, sample our unique sound with performances by top artists, and hear new and classic works by famed composers including Minnesota’s only winner of the Pulitzer Prize…
Find out more »VocalEssence WITNESS Community Conversations: Legacies of Strength
Join us for a unique event featuring descendants of people who share a special connection to Fort Snelling. Lynne Jackson will share stories of her great-great-grandparents, Dred and Harriet Scott, whose fight for freedom led our nation closer to civil war. Sharon Harper will speak about her ancestor, Robert Hickman, who escaped slavery during the Civil War and found a new life in Minnesota. Now 160 years since the controversial Dred Scott ruling, these guest presenters will share stories of…
Find out more »April 2017
CONCERT CONVERSATION: Miracle Mass
Join us for a concert conversation with pianist and composer Stephen Hough hosted by Pamela Espeland, MinnPost journalist.
Find out more »CONCERT: Miracle Mass
Advance sales for this concert are now closed. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the door beginning at 6:30 PM on Saturday. Join world-renowned pianist and composer Stephen Hough on a spiritual journey from unquestioning faith to doubt to profound joy. The Basilica of Saint Mary’s majestic setting makes the moving and deeply personal work of this MacArthur Genius even more poignant. The experience will inspire you to reflect on your own journey and, ultimately, remind us…
Find out more »May 2017
FAMILY CONCERT: VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Community Concert 2017, 7 PM
Hear our community come together as more than 500 students join VocalEssence to celebrate Mexico through song. The culmination of a year-long composer-in-residence program, these bilingual concerts include premieres and an audience sing-along that will leave you with a renewed hope that music can change the world. Adams Spanish Immersion School, Saint Paul Highland Park Senior High School, Saint Paul Irondale High School, New Brighton Meadow Lake Elementary School, New Hope Richard R. Green Central Park School, Minneapolis Washburn…
Find out more »VINTAGE VOICES: Sabathani Vintage Voices Concert
Come and experience the sounds of the Sabathani Vintage Voices of the Sabathani Senior Center in Draw the Circle Wide, an exciting and heartfelt program of songs and spoken word that draw us together to celebrate community, friendship and freedom! Free and open to the public. Reception to follow in the Senior Center, Suite 106. Sabathani Senior Center is a partner of the VocalEssence Vintage Voices program, an exciting choral program that integrates the arts into the everyday lives of older adults by fostering…
Find out more »Dreams of the Fallen: Music of Honor and Remembrance for Memorial Day with Steve Seel on MPR News
Commemorate Memorial Day by listening to a special one-hour program on Minnesota Public Radio News featuring the 2015 VocalEssence Dreams of the Fallen performance with special guests Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and world-renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel. Written by local composer Jake Runestad, Dreams of the Fallen includes text by poet and Iraq War Veteran Brian Turner. Listen on your MPR News Station or stream online.
Find out more »Dreams of the Fallen: Music of Honor and Remembrance for Memorial Day with Steve Seel on Classical MPR
Commemorate Memorial Day by listening to a special one-hour program on Classical Minnesota Public Radio featuring the 2015 VocalEssence Dreams of the Fallen performance with special guests Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and world-renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel. Written by local composer Jake Runestad, Dreams of the Fallen includes text by poet and Iraq War Veteran Brian Turner. Listen on your Classical MPR Station or stream online.
Find out more »July 2017
MNHS EVENT: Minnesota, Place of Refuge
What does “home” mean to you? Is it a place or an idea? Is it private or shared with others? Minnesota has been a place of refuge for many people looking for a home and new life throughout its history. Join us as we explore the notion of home, past and present, and how communities and individuals draw strength and identity from these places. Following the presentation, lend your voice to a dialogue about how our communities can be better…
Find out more »VINTAGE VOICES: Trillium Woods Vintage Voices Concert
Come and experience the sounds of the Trillium Woods Chorale in Songs of Love and Life, an exciting program featuring selections of jazz, American folk songs, classical and more! Free and open to the public. Reception to follow in the Auditorium. Trillium Woods is a partner of the VocalEssence Vintage Voices program, an exciting choral program that integrates the arts into the everyday lives of older adults by fostering the creation of choirs in residential assisted living communities and senior centers. Click here for…
Find out more »August 2017
COMMUNITY SING: Bring the Sing on the Capitol Green
Attention, singers of all abilities! To help celebrate the grand opening of the new Minnesota State Capitol building, we’re teaming up with Classical Minnesota Public Radio for a very special Bring the Sing on the Capitol Green on Sunday, August 13th. Come join other choral enthusiasts as we sing favorites from the Great American Songbook, led by our own Associate Conductor, G. Phillip Shoultz, III. This really is an event for all: whether you’re a choir member, a professional vocalist,…
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