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YOU’RE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO SING!
ACCLAIMED LOCAL AUTHOR NANCY CARLSON AND VOCALESSENCE
HOST TALES & TUNES MUSICAL STORYTIME
Nursery rhyme sing-alongs, lullabies, and crafts—March 30

            MINNEAPOLIS — January 17, 2019— Local choral and community-building nonprofit VocalEssence has assembled a morning of programming perfect for its youngest listeners: Tales & Tunes musical story time, featuring prolific local children’s book author and illustrator Nancy Carlson.

Parents and grandparents are invited to accompany children in their lives to the storybook-like Guild Hall at Plymouth Congregational Church, home of VocalEssence. Members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and high schoolers from the organization’s youth choir, VocalEssence Singers Of This Age, will guide the group through a nursery rhyme sing-along as well as create an original lullaby together. Guests will also hear new songs composed by local participants in The Lullaby Project, a VocalEssence program in partnership with Carnegie Hall, which helps new mothers connect to their babies through song.

Nancy Carlson will read from some of her favorite works.

Images are available here.

Tales & Tunes has two performances in the Guild Hall of Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis on Saturday, March 30. The first runs from 9:30-10:30 am; the second runs from 11:30 AM-12:30 pm. All ages are welcome—single adult tickets are $15; children and youth ages 0-17 are free, with the purchase of an adult ticket. $10 adult tickets are also available as part of a Family Series Subscription. Choose three or more Family Concert events to subscribe. The VocalEssence Family Series reflects the organization’s commitment to sharing music with the broadest possible audience in the community, and all five Family Series concerts are free for children and young people ages 0-17 with the purchase of an adult ticket.

“Part of growing up is learning to cope with your emotions, and singing is wonderful way to express feelings, vent them, and even get yourself into a good mood,” said G. Phillip Shoultz, III, VocalEssence associate conductor.  “Young families enjoy reading the works of Nancy Carlson to their children because she depicts emotions they can relate to, in a way that’s reassuring. Our Tales & Tunes event is all about just putting your voice out there! Kids who are too shy to sing in public will still go home with a nice memory of story time, and they’ll remember that if they ever need someone to sing with, VocalEssence is there. And we’re proud to introduce a wider audience to lullabies our Lullaby Project moms have composed for their beloved babies.”

VocalEssence, called “one of the irreplaceable music ensembles of our time” by Dana Gioia, past chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, impacts thousands of students, singers, and composers each year through its initiative programs, contests, and support for innovative art. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 and has debuted more than 300 commissions and 500 world premieres. For more information, visit www.vocalessence.org.

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