FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

‘TIS THE SEASON FOR…
JAZZ AND MARIACHI!

VocalEssence celebrates
the holidays with Dave Brubeck’s ode to Christmas

MINNEAPOLIS
— November XX, 2013 — Winter’s beloved annual concert series from VocalEssence—Welcome Christmas—returns
this holiday season with five concerts celebrating the music of legendary jazz
great Dave Brubeck, as well as favorite Christmas carol arrangements by other
American composers.

            The
program, featuring pianist Dan Chouinard and local Mexican folk group Mariachi Mi Tierra
along with the 100-voice VocalEssence Chorus and 32-voice Ensemble Singers,
will include Brubeck’s cantata La Fiesta
de la Posada, an ode to the Latin festival recounting the journey of Mary
and Joseph to the stable. This December marks the first anniversary of the
passing of the pianist and founder of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Dave was also a
VocalEssence Honorary Board Member.

            “Dave
Brubeck saw music as a continual process of discovery, and La Fiesta de la Posada reflects his deep love and admiration for
Mexican folk music in a lovely retelling of the Latin version of the Christmas
story,” says Philip Brunelle, founder and artistic director, VocalEssence.
“VocalEssence looks so much forward to the Welcome Christmas program each
year, and we invite everyone to make our tradition theirs, too.”

            Each
show will include traditional holiday delights such as “O Little Town of
Bethlehem,” “We Three Kings,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High” (click here for a concert preview). In addition, the show will honor two Welcome Christmas Carol Contest winners—Dale Trumbore
and William V. Malpede. This year is the sixteenth year of the
Welcome Christmas Carol Contest, sponsored by VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum. Open to composers of all ages, this
year’s contest required writing a carol for a mixed-voice chorus accompanied by
Dan Chouinard on piano. Ms. Trumbore’s composition “Ring Out, Ye Bells,” will
be performed by the Chorus and Mr. Malpede’s composition “Sound Over All
Waters,” will be performed by the Ensemble Singers.

            The
series kicks off Sat., Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity
Lutheran Church in
Stillwater. Additional concert dates include:

• Sun.,
  Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis
• Fri.,
  Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Apple Valley
• Sat.,
  Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Colonial Church of Edina
• Sun.,
  Dec. 15 at 4 p.m., again at Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis

            Tickets
are available for $10 and up; youth ages 6-18 and students with a valid college
ID are eligible for half-price tickets. For more information about this concert
series and to purchase tickets, please call 612-371-5656 or visit www.vocalessence.org.

            VocalEssence
is comprised of the 100-voice VocalEssence Chorus, the 32-voice professional
Ensemble Singers, as well as guest soloists and instrumentalists, and offers
audiences a broad series of concerts. Called “one of the irreplaceable
music ensembles of our time” by Dana Gioia, past chairman of the National
Endowment for the Arts, VocalEssence was founded in 1969 by artistic director
Philip Brunelle. VocalEssence has championed the vocal experience in
unconventional ways through concerts, commissions, and community engagement,
and has debuted more than 150 commissions and world premieres. Beyond
performances and recordings, VocalEssence impacts thousands of students,
singers, and composers each year through its initiative programs, contests, and
support for innovative art. For more information, visit www.vocalessence.org.

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