VocalEssence WITNESS Classroom Resource Hub – 2025-2026

2025-2026 WITNESS Resources Thank you for being a WITNESS Partner School!  Enjoy these free resources funded by institutions and individual donors. Scroll down to view a variety of resources created by the VocalEssence Learning and Engagement team staff. We hope you and your students will use and learn from these throughout the school year. Emma…

VocalEssence WITNESS Classroom Resource Hub – 2024-2025

2024-2025 WITNESS Resources Thank you for being a WITNESS Partner School!  Enjoy these free resources funded by institutions and individual donors. Scroll down to view a variety of resources created by the VocalEssence Learning and Engagement team staff. We hope you and your students will use and learn from these throughout the school year. Emma…

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, comprised of boys and men, dressed in red cassocks with white surplices. They are standing in King's College Chapel, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture known for its soaring fan-vaulted ceiling, tall stained glass windows, and elaborate woodwork.

Concert: Choir of King’s College, Cambridge

Apr 16, 2027 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Presented in collaboration with the Cathedral Heritage Foundation. Experience the magnificent voices of the world-renowned Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, in the soaring acoustics of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Celebrated for its stunning artistry and centuries-old legacy, the Choir—under the direction of Daniel Hyde—will present an uplifting evening of choral music that is sure…

VocalEssence 2026-2027 Season Logo

VocalEssence 2026-2027 Season

Aug 20, 2026 - May 14, 2027

Discovery Baked into the DNA of VocalEssence is our focus on new music and new composers. This season will feature the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by composer Shruthi Rajasekar and the Midwest premiere of a VocalEssence co-commissioned song cycle based on the Seven Deadly Sins.

The sun and its rays shine beams of light through clouds breaking into blue sky above the sun and an orange hued sky below. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock Image

Sacred Voices Digital Concert Program

FEATURING: VocalEssence Chorus VocalEssence Ensemble Singers Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano University Singers, University of Minnesota Matthew Mehaffey, conductor Orchestra Sir James MacMillan, conductor Philip Brunelle, conductor

Many singers perform in front of an audience in the ornate sanctuary of the Cathedral of Saint Paul that features a baldachin with black and gold marble columns that has a bronze latticework canopy. Photo Credit: Bruce Silcox

Voices for a Cathedral Digital Concert Program

FEATURING: Basilica of St. Mary Cathedral Choir Patrick Schneider, conductor | Samuel Holmberg, organist Central Lutheran Choir Joseph Osowski, conductor | Isaac Drewes, organist House of Hope Presbyterian Motet Choir Matthew Culloton, conductor | Aaron David Miller, organist St. Mark’s Cathedral Choir Ray Johnston, conductor Saint Paul Cathedral Choir Christopher Ganza, conductor Plymouth Congregational Church…

VocalEssence Annual Report 2023-2024

Dear Friends of VocalEssence, With immense joy and gratitude, we share with you the 2023-2024 Annual Report for VocalEssence. This past year has been one of transformative growth, artistic innovation, and deep community impact. As we celebrate these accomplishments, we also look ahead with great anticipation to what’s next. Our commitment to using music as…

Celebration Honoring Sir James MacMillan

Philip Brunelle & VocalEssence invite you to a celebration honoring guest artists Sir James MacMillan Conductor & Composer Goitsemang Lehobye Soprano Monday, March 31, 2025 5:30pm to 7:30pm Hosted by Mary and Jim Lawrence 4415 E Lake Harriet Parkway, Minneapolis, MN On-street parking available RSVP by March 26th below or to amy@vocalessence.org or 612.547.1454 Please…

WITNESS: Eyes Still on the Prize Six Trailblazers

Ruby Bridges At the tender age of six, Ruby Bridges advanced the cause of civil rights in November 1960 when she became the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. Born on September 8, 1954, Bridges was the oldest of five children for Lucille and Abon Bridges, farmers in Tylertown,…

VocalEssence singers holding black folders performing at Northrop with brass and percussion players conducted by G. Phillip Shoultz, III. Photo Credit: Tony Nelson Photography

WITNESS: Eyes Still On the Prize Digital Concert Program

FEATURING: One Accord Dance Collective Suzette Gilreath Anaje Colquitt and Aurora Silpala, storytellers Audrey Lane-Getaz, soloist VocalEssence Chorus VocalEssence Singers Of This Age VocalEssence Vintage Voices Casey Rafn, piano WITNESS Trio G. Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor

VocalEssence Companion Tour Summer 2025

Explore England in Song and Story with VocalEssence! Join the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and founder Philip Brunelle, MBE, on an extraordinary 10-day tour to England from July 21-31, 2025*. Organized by professional tour company ACFEA, this once-in-a-lifetime trip is designed for music lovers and adventurers alike, blending breathtaking performances you won’t see anywhere else, with rich cultural experiences, and historic exploration. Want…