Educational program continues to build on
tremendous success of its inaugural 2008-2009 season

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (March 31, 2010) – Now in its second season,
the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! program links Mexican
composers with nearly 500 students and adults in the Twin Cities community
through residencies in schools, churches, and choral organizations. This
cross-cultural program is designed to encourage a deeper understanding of
Mexico’s rich classical musical heritage, develop a new understanding of the
traditions that are melding Mexican and American cultures, and create a new
body of Spanish language music for voices and instruments.  

¡Cantaré! composers Jesús López and Diana Syrse
first traveled to Minnesota in October 2009 to meet the ensembles they are now
working with for the 2009-2010 school year. Their purpose was to hear the ensembles
sing and determine what kind of composition would be most appropriate for each
group. After spending one week together, the composers spent the next two
months writing new works for each choir, which were delivered to the singers in
January.

In
March 2010, the composers returned for a second visit with their ensembles to
hear how rehearsals were proceeding with their brand new compositions, and to
work directly with the singers.

• Jesús López is working with
  Burroughs Community School (Minneapolis), Adams Spanish Immersion School (St.
  Paul), and the Latino Children’s Choir, a group of young people from several
  area churches hosted by Ascension Church in north Minneapolis. He is also composing
  new music for VocalEssence. The principal organist at the Metropolitan
  Cathedral of Mexico, Jesús López has
  extensive experience working with school-age children and has composed a
  variety of choral works including Suite
  Romántica, which was dedicated to the Children’s Choir of La Schola
  Cantorum in Mexico.

• Diana Syrse  is working with
  Como Park High School (St. Paul); Washburn High School (Minneapolis), and Andover
  High School (Andover). Surrounded by music of all styles from a young age, Diana Syrse has a wide range of
  experience writing choral works for organizations such as La Coordinadora
  Internacional de Mujeres en el Arte and Vox LaTina as well as conducting
  workshops in contemporary compositional techniques.

Composers
Jesús López and Diana Syrse will return for a week in May to help prepare their
choirs for the world premiere of their compositions at the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Community Concert. The concert will also
feature new music written by Jorge Córdoba, one of the composers who
participated in the last season’s inaugural ¡Cantaré! program.

The
2009-2010 ¡Cantare! program will
culminate with the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré!
Community Concert on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 (7 pm) at the Basilica of Saint Mary in
Minneapolis. This concert is free and open to the public, but tickets are
required. For
more information about the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré!
program and
free performance tickets visit www.vocalessence.org/cantareconcert2010.
For press information and photographs, contact Jennifer Bauer (612-547-1459, jbauer@vocalessence.org).

Funding for the VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! program has
been generously provided by The Minneapolis Foundation, General Mills, Best
Buy, RBC Dain Rauscher, and Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation.