FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 23, 2009

“The best choral group around: VocalEssence.”
– MPLS.ST.PAUL Magazine

VOCALESSENCE ANNOUNCES ITS 2009-2010 SEASON
with
Sweet Honey in the Rock
James Sewell and members of the James Sewell Ballet
Twenty marimbas from the Marimba 2010 Festival & Convention
Two Stephen Paulus world premieres

MINNEAPOLIS— Following a tremendously successful 40th anniversary season, complete with sold out performances, rave reviews, and an international tour, VocalEssence announces the 2009-2010 season to include six season concerts and two community concerts, all under the direction of Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle.

Season highlights include:
• Grammy-nominated a cappella vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock inspires with a message of hope, love, and justice
• James Sewell and members of the James Sewell Ballet create original choreography to Aaron Copland choral masterpieces
• Twenty marimbas from the Marimba 2010 Festival & Convention join VocalEssence to perform the stunning Gabrieli Magnificat à33—with 33 separate melodic voices
• Two Stephen Paulus world premieres

VocalEssence performs in the region’s leading venues, including Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and Ted Mann Concert Hall, as well as beautiful churches such as Basilica of Saint Mary, Cathedral of Saint Paul, Plymouth Congregational Church, Central Lutheran Church, Trinity Lutheran Church and Normandale Lutheran Church.
For additional press information and photographs, please contact Jennifer Bauer, 612-547-1459 or jbauer@vocalessence.org.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTION PERFORMANCES

Of Love and Angels
Friday, September 25, 2009 – 8 pm at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis

The VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers will open the 2009-2010 season with Dominick Argento’s Evensong: Of Love and Angels, composed for soprano, boy soprano, reader, chorus, and orchestra. Filled with shimmering melodies and moving text, this intensely personal work was written in memory of the composer’s wife Carolyn Bailey. In 2008, the work premiered to critical acclaim at the Washington National Cathedral, and the first performance in the composer’s home town has been highly anticipated. Evensong will be paired with works of Handel: Zadok the Priest and Laudate Pueri (Psalm 113) for chorus and chamber orchestra, showcasing soprano Maria Jette.

British Invasion: Simon Halsey Conducts
Saturday, October 24, 2009 – 8 pm at the Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis

The winner of Grammy awards in both 2008 and 2009 in the “Best Choral Performance” category, internationally renowned conductor Simon Halsey will travel from England to conduct the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers. He has selected an all-British program, including “Five Spirituals” from Michael Tippett’s most celebrated work, A Child of Our Time, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “Let All the World” from Five Mystical Songs, the American premiere of Julian Anderson’s Four American Choruses, and many others.

Welcome Christmas
Sunday, December 6, 2009 – 4 pm at Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis
Friday, December 11, 2009 – 7:30 pm at Normandale Lutheran Church, Edina
Saturday, December 12, 2009 – 7:30 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater
Sunday, December 13, 2009 – 4 pm at Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis

A beloved Twin Cities holiday tradition, Welcome Christmas celebrates the season with the glittering melodies and festive carols of choral composer extraordinaire John Rutter. Alongside familiar Christmas favorites, VocalEssence premieres two brand new carols from the 12th annual VocalEssence/American Composers Forum “Welcome Christmas Carol Contest” for viola and chorus as well as music of Handel and Mendelssohn.

WITNESS: Sweet Honey in the Rock
Sunday, February 14, 2010 – 4 pm at Ordway Center for Performing Arts, Saint Paul

Famous for their soulful harmonies and intricate rhythms, Grammy-nominated a cappella vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock joins the VocalEssence Chorus for an uplifting celebration of hope, love, and justice. Inspired by African American legacy and traditions, Sweet Honey has become an innovative presence in the world’s musical culture with their artful mix of blues, spirituals, gospel, African chants, Hip Hop and improvisation.

Undiscovered Copland
Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 8 pm at Ted Mann Concert Hall, Minneapolis

The VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers will explore the choral music of one of the world’s most honored composers: Aaron Copland. Dancer James Sewell and members of the James Sewell Ballet bring some of Copland’s Old American Songs and his choral masterpiece In the Beginning to life with original choreography created for this performance. Copland’s rarely performed first opera, The Second Hurricane, and “The Promise of Living” from the opera The Tender Land complete the program.

Mallets & Melodies
Friday, April 30, 2010 – 8 pm at Cathedral of Saint Paul

In conjunction with the Marimba 2010 Festival & Convention, the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers perform the stunning Gabrieli Magnificat à33 with 33 separate vocal lines spread throughout the Cathedral — along with 20 marimbas! This sensational performance also features three world premieres — Jorge Córdoba is commemorating the Mexican Bicentennial with a new work, and Stephen Paulus is composing a piece for chorus and marimba as well as a new arrangement of his celebrated “Pilgrim’s Hymn.”

COMMUNITY CONCERTS

Star of Wonder
Saturday, December 5, 2009 – 2 pm at Guild Hall, Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis

The young and young at heart are welcome at Star of Wonder, a one-hour holiday concert perfect for the whole family. The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and the Mississippi Stars dance troupe perform a feast of favorite holiday music, including a rousing “Twelve Days of Christmas” sing-along.

Sing in the New Year
Sunday, January 10, 2010 – 4 pm at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Apple Valley

Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers welcome a new decade in song. Michael Culloton and Philip Brunelle conduct this community concert, which also celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Choral Arts Ensemble.

VOCALESSENCE SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

The VocalEssence 2009-2010 season brochure is now available. Season tickets go on sale beginning Wednesday, April 8, 2009. VocalEssence subscribers may create their own subscription package, choosing three, four, five, or the full six-concert subscription. Subscription prices range from $115 to $200. VocalEssence subscribers save up to 31% off regular single ticket prices and pay no box office or ticket exchange fees.

For more information about VocalEssence subscriptions, please call the Orchestra Hall Box Office at 612-371-5642 or (toll-free) 800-292-4141 Monday through Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday from
1 pm to 5 pm; or visit the VocalEssence website at www.vocalessence.org.

Single tickets for VocalEssence performances go on sale July 1, 2009.

The Orchestra Hall Box Office is located at the corner of 11th Street and Marquette Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

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