Four talented, emerging composers/songwriters have been selected to have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship through VocalEssence ReMix as they each write a choral work. Each has been paired with a Composer Mentor, and on Saturday, June 6, they will gather for a One-Day Summer Workshop where they will meet with VocalEssence Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle, their… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE LAUNCHES ASPIRING COMPOSER MENTORSHIP PROGRAM Choral ensemble’s ReMix pairs up-and-coming talent with award-winning mentors MINNEAPOLIS — May 6, 2015 — Nationally acclaimed choral ensemble VocalEssence has added a new educational program to cultivate an upcoming generation of choral music composers. VocalEssence ReMix pairs four emerging Minnesota composers with four… Read More →
“There is nothing like seeing the face of a composer who hears his or her music sung for the first time,” says Kimberly Meisten, VocalEssence director of community engagement. VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! composers Julio Morales and Jean Angelus Pichardo returned to the Twin Cities in March for a two-week stay to help teach their newly composed… Read More →
Saturday, May 2, 2015 was a beautiful day to be on the Mississippi River aboard the Minnesota Centennial Showboat, enjoying cocktails and appetizers on the Victorian Deck, followed by river songs and tales with Don Shelby as Mark Twain, fiddler Sara Pajunen, and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers conducted by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu. Visit our Facebook album… Read More →
On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, VocalEssence had the honor of participating in a true love story—a marriage proposal delivered via the VocalEssence Chorus with a piece composed by Mexican composer Novelli Jurado, a composer-in-residence for our ¡Cantaré! in Rochester school program. Novelli met Michelle Eng, his now-fiancé, while working with the 2012-2013 season of VocalEssence… Read More →
As if you didn’t already have enough great reasons to join us for the Gather at the River with Mark Twain fundraiser for VocalEssence music education programs on May 2, here are five more: The fabulous raffle prizes described below offer the winners another evening of top-tier entertainment—and four seasons of wine! So make plans… Read More →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MasuVCxo0CQ Don Shelby as Mark Twain invites you to Gather at the River with Mark Twain, a fundraiser for VocalEssence choral music education programs. Hear river songs and tales on the historic Minnesota Centennial Showboat with the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and the fine fiddling of Sara Pajunen. Hop aboard on May 2, 2015 for a… Read More →
CONTACTO: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com El conjunto coral con sede en Minneapolis estrena sus nuevas obras musicales compuestas por compositores mexicanos y estudiantes locales en el Concierto Comunitario ¡Cantaré! MINNEAPOLIS —1 de abril de 2015— VocalEssence invita a toda la familia a cruzar la frontera hacia una celebración musical mexicana en el Concierto Comunitario de… Read More →
by Gianna Kordatzky March 30, 2015 Classical Music Jean Angelus Pichardo grew up just outside of Mexico City and picked up a guitar when he was eight. You will find a guitar in most Mexican homes, and Jean’s was no different. As a confident 8-year-old, he asked his music teacher at school if he could… Read More →
CONTACT: Katrina Wallmeyer 612-547-1472 katrina@vocalessence.org VOCALESSENCE WELCOMES SIX NEW BOARD MEMBERS MINNEAPOLIS — March 18, 2015 — Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence announced today that six new members have joined its Board of Directors – Ann Farrell, Joe Kalkman, Alfred Moore, David Myers, Timothy C. Takach, and Dorene Tebbe Wernke. All six new board members have… Read More →
REVIEW: Opera by Gertrude Stein, Virgil Thomson gets delightful staging by VocalEssence, Black Label troupe. By TERRY BLAIN Special to the Star Tribune MARCH 20, 2016 — 11:24PM http://www.startribune.com/four-saints-playful-in-words-and-music/372843271/ It has no plot worth mentioning, and the silliest libretto in operatic history. That’s the naysayers’ take on Virgil Thomson’s “Four Saints in Three Acts,” which hasn’t… Read More →
Older adults are pursuing active lives, and VocalEssence is gladly adding to their options with the launch of VocalEssence Vintage Voices—an exciting choral program that integrates the arts into the everyday lives of older adults by fostering the creation of choirs in assisted living facilities and senior centers. With funding from the Minnesota State Arts… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE PUTS ON A BIG SHOW (OR NINE) WITH DIVERSE 47TH SEASON Celebrated Twin Cities choral organization announces new season promoting diverse communities—through the voice MINNEAPOLIS—March 14, 2015—Acclaimed Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence—recognized internationally for its innovative explorations of music—announces an intriguing 47th season of concerts. The 2015-2016 lineup celebrates many… Read More →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otO1BYz_i6o When you attend one of the two VocalEssence Radio Hour concerts this weekend, you are sure to be stirred by something you haven’t experienced before—and treated to some old favorites, too. The first half of the program reaches back to the early days of radio in a tribute to Fred Waring and the music… Read More →
