by Jill | Cherry and Spoon Friday, March 22, 2019 Leonard Bernstein is one of the best 20th Century American composers (not to mention pianist and conductor, as I learned last year). His Candide is stunningly beautiful, but based on Voltaire’s 18th Century satirical novel, it’s a bit… weird. Twin Cities vocal ensemble VocalEssence and music-theater company Theater Latte Da have combined to… Read More →
By TERRY BLAIN | Special to the Star Tribune PUBLISHED: MARCH 22, 2019 — 5:48PM http://www.startribune.com/theater-latt-vocalessence-stage-leonard-bernstein-s-candide-as-the-masterpiece-it-always-was/507520572/ REVIEW: A new staging helps audiences find the brilliance in Bernstein’s misunderstood operetta. A hanging, a hurricane, a flood, a rape, plus multiple other acts of violence, all happening across a variety of countries and continents. No wonder… Read More →
Star Tribune MARCH 17, 2019 — 2:00PM: http://www.startribune.com/the-week-s-five-best-twin-cities-classical-concerts/507213622/ Medieval gets modern Picture a trio singing medieval works. Add newly penned pieces and plenty of electronics. Then squint a little, adjusting for the unexpected. Liquid Music and the Walker Art Center present an evening that toggles between 12th-century chants and world premieres. Vocal trio ModernMedieval —… Read More →
by Basil Considine | Twin Cities Arts Reader March 18, 2019: https://twincitiesarts.com/2019/03/18/interview-soprano-liv-redpath-on-singing-in-the-best-of-all-possible-worlds/ Opera is seemingly everywhere in the Twin Cities in March, with productions and concerts by the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera Theatre, and more. Into this tangled period leaps the choral music ensemble VocalEssence, which has chosen “The Best of All Possible… Read More →
By Terry Blain | Special to the Star Tribune MARCH 17, 2019 — 11:11AM: http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-team-tries-to-fix-leonard-bernstein-s-biggest-flop/507161192/ Theater Latté Da doubles up with VocalEssence to rethink a confounding musical theater work. Photo: Allen Weeks After opening on Broadway in 1956, Leonard Bernstein’s operetta “Candide” ran for a paltry 73 performances. That’s a disaster in terms of music theater.… Read More →
Thank you to the 69 people who took the Frozen Movie Sing-Along Survey. This is our first family movie event, and we appreciate you taking the time to give us feedback. The VocalEssence staff analyzes the results and uses the information to plan for better performances in the future. Below is a summary of the results. 43%… Read More →
By Pamela Espeland MinnPost FEBRUARY 28, 2019 — 08:24AM https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2019/02/vocalessence-to-present-witness-times-two-joffrey-ballet-to-perform-anna-karenina/ VocalEssence was born in 1969 as the Plymouth Church Music Series. Just another concert series at a local church, founded by an ambitious, tireless and hypercreative choir director and organist named Philip Brunelle. In 2002, the Plymouth Music Series became VocalEssence. Today, Brunelle and his singers are… Read More →
Dominick Argento was an amazing man—he was my teacher, colleague and personal friend of our family. When I arrived at the University of Minnesota, I signed up for History of Opera, not knowing that I would have the best professor on opera as my teacher! I have often said that if you wish to take… Read More →
By Ross Raihala | rraihala@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press February 25, 2019 at 7:00 am https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/25/vocalessences-51st-season-includes-family-concerts-festivals-and-a-moana-singalong/ A “Moana” movie singalong, the addition of a second Witness concert and a celebration of the music of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn are on tap for VocalEssence’s newly announced 51st season. Season tickets are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale Aug. 5.… Read More →
by Ross Raihala | Pioneer Press February 21, 2019 at 1:00 pm https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/21/vocalessences-witness-concert-honors-ilhan-omar-hallie-q-brown-other-trailblazers/ Back in 2017, VocalEssence associate conductor G. Phillip Shoultz III was starting to plan the group’s annual Witness concert and was thinking about influential women who changed everything. “I was struck by what is going on in our society with the rise and… Read More →
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Weismann 612-716-0556 Jennifer@owl-marketing.com CLASSIC DYLAN GOES CHORAL IN MIDWEST PREMIERE FROM VOCALESSENCE “The Times They Are A-Changin’: The Words and Music of Bob Dylan” interprets some of the Nobel Prize-winning Minnesotan’s best-loved songs—April 27 at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul MINNEAPOLIS — February 10, 2019 — VocalEssence is… Read More →
Join us at VocalEssence WITNESS: Yet They Persist on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 4 PM at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis! Tickets start at $10. Visit this website to learn more and purchase tickets: https://www.vocalessence.org/event/concert-vocalessence-witness-yet-they-persist/
Don Lee | Chorus America January 10, 2019 https://www.chorusamerica.org/node/9195 North American choruses are anticipating a wave of major anniversaries in the coming years, and their leaders are hard at work preparing to mark the occasions. The most thoughtful celebrations honor a chorus’s past achievements, while laying the groundwork for an even stronger future. Brace yourself. In… Read More →
This spring, the VocalEssence Board and Staff are excited to embark on a multi-year journey into Intercultural Organizational Development to assist in furthering our Inclusion, Access, and Equity commitment. After interviewing multiple consultants, the VocalEssence Executive Committee of the Board has approved working with Beth Zemsky. Beth comes to VocalEssence after decades of experience in… Read More →
Christy DeSmith | Star Tribune JANUARY 25, 2019 — 11:36PM http://www.startribune.com/best-of-the-week-city-of-lakes-loppet-dorothy-kurosawa-frozen-singalong/504825212/ Looking for a fun outing with your Elsa-crazed preschooler? VocalEssence hosts a trio of “Frozen Movie Sing-Along” events on Saturday, led by the group’s sparkling choristers. Screenings take place at the American Swedish Institute, which — let’s be honest — parents could easily pass off… Read More →
