VocalEssence News
For Immediate Release
Contact: Katryn Conlin, 612-547-1459

Four performances:

Sunday December 3 (4 pm)
Sunday December 10 (4 pm)
Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 55403

Thursday, December 7
(7:30 pm)
St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi, 55115

Saturday, December 9
(7:30 pm)
Normandale Lutheran Church, 6100 Normandale Road, Edina 55436

Tickets: $20-$35, students half price. Group discounts available. Call 612-624-2345 or visit www.vocalessence.org.

Minneapolis (October 3, 2006) – This year’s annual VocalEssence Welcome Christmas! concerts bring back a long-time audience favorite, Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest by Conrad Susa. There are four performances in the Twin Cities (see details above) and tickets are available by calling 612-624-2345 or via www.vocalessence.org.

Originally commissioned by VocalEssence in 1992, Carols & Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest will be sung by the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers with harp, guitar and marimba. A setting of Spanish-language carols from Spain, Mexico and Puerto Rico, Susa’s compilation is considered the most popular VocalEssence commission to date. VocalEssence recorded this lovely Christmas work in 1993 and it is available on CD.

Welcome Christmas! will also include Vincent Persichetti’s classic Winter Cantata for women’s voices and the world premiere of the winning carol or carols for chorus and guitar from the ninth annual Welcome Christmas! Carol Contest, co-sponsored by VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum. A selection of festive international carols rounds out the program.

Welcome Christmas! will be recorded by Minnesota Public Radio for distribution in 2007 via American Public Media. Classical Minnesota Public Radio’s John Birge hosts this one-hour holiday radio program each year, which is carried by stations across the country.

For additional press information and images, please contact Katryn Conlin, VocalEssence Communications Director at kconlin@vocalessence.org or 612-547-1459.

Download press photos for VocalEssence events at www.vocalessence.org >news_and_media > image and file downloads.

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VocalEssence
1900 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403 USA
www.vocalessence.org