In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Knut Nystedt. Knut Nystedt 1915-2014 Knut Nystedt was a Norwegian composer, conductor, organist, and music teacher. Living to age 99 he held a central position throughout a long period of rapidly shifting musical currents. With… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Zoltán Kodály. Zoltán Kodály 1882-1962 Composer, pioneering ethnomusicologist, groundbreaking educator and critic, Kodály enjoyed a status in Hungary that is perhaps unrivaled by any other figure. Kodály was born in Kecskemét, Hungary, soon moving to… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Hugo Distler. Hugo Distler 1908-1942 Born in Nuremberg, Germany, Hugo Distler is known mostly for his sacred choral music. He began his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory in the conducting class, with piano as his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer John Philip Sousa. This episode features Tenor Bradley Greenwald. John Philip Sousa 1854-1932 Composer of the official national march of the United States, The Stars and Stripes Forever!, John Philip Sousa, known as the “March… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Darius Milhaud. Darius Milhaud 1892-1974 The French composer Darius Milhaud was a pioneer of 1920s avant-garde music. Born in Marseille, Milhaud was the son of an excellent amateur pianist and a fine contralto. From the… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Thomas Tallis. Thomas Tallis 1505-1585 The career of the English composer Thomas Tallis spans the troubled period of the reign of Henry VIII to the reign of the last Tudor monarch, Queen Elizabeth I. These… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Claude Debussy. Claude Debussy 1862-1918 French composer and pianist, Claude Debussy, known for his operas, symphonic music and his works for the piano, remains one of the most commonly-performed composers of the late nineteenth century.… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Cecilia McDowall. Cecilia McDowall b.1951 Born in London in 1951, Cecilia McDowall’s writing combines rhythmic vitality with expressive lyricism. She has won many awards, been short-listed eight times for the British Composer Awards, and in… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. Einojuhani Rautavaara 1928-2016 Einojuhani Rautavaara is one of the best known and most frequently performed Finnish composers. He studied musicology at the University of Helsinki and composition at the Sibelius Academy with Aarre… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer William Dawson. William Dawson 1899-1990 William Dawson was a leading African-American arranger of spirituals as well as a distinguished choral conductor. At age 13, Dawson ran away from home to enter Tuskegee (Institute) University. He… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Randall Thompson. Randall Thompson 1899-1984 The skilled composer and music educator Randall Thompson, well-known for his Alleluia, transformed American music and his choral music has been more widely performed than that of any other American… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Rodion Shchedrin. Rodion Shchedrin b. 1932 Rodion Shchedrin, Russian composer and virtuosic pianist, was born in Moscow into a musical family: his father was a composer and a teacher of music theory. After completing his… Read More →
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