In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Antonín Dvořák. Antonín Dvořák 1841-1904 Antonín Dvořák, the Czech composer, was the first Bohemian composer to achieve worldwide recognition, noted for turning folk material into 19th-century Romantic music. He came to know music early and… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Katherine K. Davis. Katherine K. Davis 1892-1980 Katherine K. Davis, an American pianist, composer, and educator, is best-known for her Christmas tune, Little Drummer Boy. Davis took her first piano lesson as a first grader,… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Virgil Thomson. Virgil Thomson 1896-1989 Virgil Thomson was a many-faceted American composer of great originality as well as a music critic of singular brilliance. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, his early connection to music came… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Robert Harris. Robert Harris b.1938 The African American composer and educator Robert A. Harris, is best-known for his choral settings of sacred and secular texts. Dr. Harris received his education from Wayne State University in… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Henry Purcell. This episode features Soprano Maria Jette. Henry Purcell 1659-1695 Henry Purcell, the most important English composer of his time, is best remembered for his more than 100 songs, a tragic opera, his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Eurico Carrapatoso. Eurico Carrapatoso b.1962 Eurico Carrapatoso is today’s best-known Portuguese composer with works having been performed across Europe and overseas. He graduated from Porto University with a degree in History in 1985 and he… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Franz Josef Haydn. Franz Josef Haydn 1732-1809 Franz Josef Haydn, the Austrian composer known as the “father of the symphony,” was one of the most prominent and prolific composers of the Classical period. Haydn revealed… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Joseph Canteloube. This episode features Soprano Maria Jette. Joseph Canteloube 1879-1957 The French composer, pianist, and folk-song collector, Joseph Canteloube, is best known for his compositions that evoke the landscape of his native region, the… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Ned Rorem. Ned Rorem b. 1923 Ned Rorem is one of America’s most honored and accomplished modern composers. He grew up in Chicago, where he studied the piano with Bonds and music theory with Sowerby.… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Anton Bruckner. Anton Bruckner 1824-1896 One of the greatest German composers of the 19th century, Anton Bruckner exerted an enormous influence on the development of music in the modern age. From an early age he… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Nils Lindberg. Nils Lindberg b.1933 Swedish composer and pianist, Nils Lindberg, is best-known for his works and arrangements for performers including Duke Ellington and Judy Garland. The music which he creates, whether written for choir,… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Edward Elgar. This episode features Mezzo-Soprano Clara Osowski. Edward Elgar 1857-1934 The British composer Edward Elgar was a composer and violinist whose compositional methods led to an ambitious output of works. His family was musical… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Frank Martin. This episode features Mezzo-Soprano Clara Osowski. Frank Martin 1890-1974 The German composer, educator, and pianist, Frank Martin, is best known for his religious choral works including his oratorio, In Terra Pax and his… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Alan Bullard. Alan Bullard b.1947 Alan Bullard is a British composer known for his religious choral works featuring gorgeous melodies and rich harmonic textures. Bullard grew up in London and studied with Geoffrey Flowers and… Read More →
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Alvin Singleton. Alvin Singleton b.1940 Alvin Singleton is an African-American composer and educator known for his prolific compositions for orchestra, theatre, and chamber ensembles. Singleton was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended New York… Read More →
