CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE BRINGS MARK TWAIN BACK TO LIFE—AGAIN Minneapolis-based choral ensemble and Don Shelby reunite for “River Songs and Tales with Mark Twain” Jan. 29 in Moorhead, Minn. MINNEAPOLIS — January 1, 2016 — Ever dreamed of journeying down the Mississippi River just like Huckleberry Finn? Grab your paddle for the… Read More →
The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, conducted by Philip Brunelle, were a big part of the sold-out A Prairie Home Companion show with Garrison Keillor on Saturday, December 26. If you missed it, you can listen to the entire program and watch video segments online, including this rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE PAYS HOMAGE TO THE MALE CHORUS — WITH HELP FROM MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GLEE CLUB Renowned choral ensemble and historic all-male glee club join forces for VocalEssence WITNESS: Morehouse College Glee Club concert—Feb. 21 MINNEAPOLIS—December 17, 2015—What happens when the internationally-renowned Morehouse College Glee Club partners with nationally acclaimed choral ensemble… Read More →
CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com VOCALESSENCE PRESENTS WORK FROM GERTRUDE STEIN AND VIRGIL THOMSON Local choral ensemble stages opera “Four Saints in Three Acts” alongside award-winning dance troupe Black Label Movement MINNEAPOLIS—December 17, 2015—On Saturday, Mar. 19, nationally acclaimed choral ensemble VocalEssence will re-imagine the groundbreaking and distinctly American opera—Four Saints in Three Acts—assisted by director… Read More →
November 11, 2015 VOCALESSENCE GOES BIG (BAND) THIS CHRISTMAS! Choral ensemble in Minnesota puts a swinging twist on traditional Christmas carols—and delivers “A Christmas Cantata.” Nationally acclaimed choral ensemble VocalEssence swings into the holiday season with its annual concert series—Welcome Christmas. This year the series features Swedish composer Nils Lindberg’s A Christmas Cantata, an “iridescent… Read More →
By Rob Hubbard Special to the Pioneer Press Posted: 12/05/2015 12:01:00 AM CST It seems that everybody’s swinging this holiday season. There are opportunities to hear jazzed-up holiday tunes all over the Twin Cities area this month. Heck, even the Minnesota Orchestra spent the first week of December doing Duke Ellington. And now the… Read More →
Students from six Twin Cities high schools gathered on Monday, November 16 at Southwest High School in Minneapolis for their first rehearsal with VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III to prepare for their performance with VocalEssence and the Morehouse College Glee Club for the WITNESS concerts in February 2016. Students learned five songs, rehearsed… Read More →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si-PTAGf6Nc VocalEssence Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III and a quartet of Ensemble Singers traveled to Wisconsin this week for a two-day choral music festival that cast Phillip as guest conductor of the mass choir of three high schools, while also working with soloists and leading teacher workshops. Ensemble Singers Joseph Ellickson, Robert Graham,… Read More →
https://vimeo.com/70340076 Voz en Punto is “one of the world’s great vocal sextets,” says VocalEssence Artistic Director Philip Brunelle. “This amazing group of singers has a 25-year history of celebrating the musical culture of Mexico, past and present, as well as performing music from around the world. Their blend, their flexibility, and their love for music… Read More →
Mexican composers Francisco Zúñiga Olmos and Alephsus Valdés will spend four weeks in the Twin Cities over the course of three visits with elementary schools and community choral singers, exploring Mexican cultural and choral music traditions as part of VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! 2015-2016. The new music they write will be premiered at the ¡Cantaré! Community Concerts… Read More →
Don Shelby has been involved “one way or another” with VocalEssence for the past 25 years, since he first appeared in a production of “Of Thee I Sing.” Now Don is on the board of VocalEssence, and the award-winning former news reporter and anchor has taken on other roles as well. “I’ve played the role… Read More →
VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers Sara Pajunen, fiddle Philip Brunelle, conductor Released in October 2015, Nordic Nativity is a wonderful exploration of beautiful music from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark—some of it familiar and some of it new. The Nordic composers have a marvelous way of spinning a melody that gets inside you and stays there!… Read More →
For those who would like a preview of one of the pieces that will be performed at the VocalEssence Dreams of the Fallen concert on October 11, 2015, which features songs of survival, hope and healing, here is a look at “Controlled Burn.” The VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers, conducted by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, performed “Controlled… Read More →
By Graydon Royce September 11, 2015 — 1:48pm ‘Dreams of the Fallen’ Jake Runestad, one of the choral world’s hot young composers, set music to the words of Iraq war veteran and poet Brian Turner for this concert by VocalEssence and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra that tries to comprehend the incomprehensible experience of the warrior.… Read More →
Accompanist phone 612-547-1451 fax 612-547-1484 info@vocalessence.org Pianist Casey Rafn enjoys a varied career as a collaborative pianist both in the United States and abroad, in Europe and Latin America. He is a member of ‘Trés’, whose saxophone-piano trio was just nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album for their new album “Romance al… Read More →
