Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director & Founder July and August have definitely been ‘music months’ for me. July began with many planning meetings for the coming season and the first week concluded with an amazing patriotic event at the Anoka airport with 24 VocalEssence singers and 5000 motorcyclists and their motorcycles! Then off to Barcelona for the… Read More →
Creative Minnesota highlights the positive impact being made by artists and creative workers. The 2017 study found that every region of the state has a robust arts economy, from the prairies of southwest Minnesota to the busy Twin Cities area to the tourist magnet that is the North Shore. The combined annual economic impact of… Read More →
The Reatha Clark King Award for Excellence and Youth Motivation through the Cultural Arts was developed by VocalEssence in 2007 to celebrate and recognize outstanding leaders who are in the field empowering young people through direct contact, making a way for them to be as successful as they can be. It was named after the… Read More →
Free event in celebration of ACDA conference will feature work from major Minnesota choral artists, composers, and a Garrison Keillor sing-along—March 7 MINNEAPOLIS—FEBRUARY 28, 2017—The best way to say welcome is to sing it! It’s especially true when you’re welcoming members of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) to town. That’s why VocalEssence, Minnesota’s internationally… Read More →
VocalEssence WITNESS guest artist Melanie DeMore was featured on Steele Talkin’ with Jearlyn Steele January 1 to talk about her work on the Lullaby Project. Check out the interview below. Listen to the rest of the show here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jltoYgaufO0&feature=youtu.be This holiday, welcome Christmas to Minnesota through a journey to pueblos, ponderosas, and piñon, traveling under the power of the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers. “We are privileged so many families make an annual tradition of joining VocalEssence for our exploration of Christmas music, each year viewed through a different lens,” said Philip Brunelle.… Read More →
As a professional choir conductor for 20 years, I’ve learned to read the subtle cues in the room before the singing starts, but I’d never before experienced a feeling quite like the one at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis on that July night. It was only a week since the tragedies in Falcon Heights and… Read More →
VocalEssence WITNESS guest artist Melanie DeMore visited Minnesota the week of September 19-24, 2016 where she breathed life into the Underground Railroad theme for hundreds of students, teachers, and community members. Below is a list of all of Melanie’s activities that week: School Visits at Parkway Middle, North High School, Parkway Middle, Johnson Senior High School), where… Read More →
It was a surprise like no other. In cahoots with Philip Brunelle, Kay’s husband Mike commissioned five women composers to write a song based on one of Kay’s quilts. She was speechless at the reveal. “I can’t tell you how excited I am about this project,” Kay described later with tears in her eyes. “This… Read More →
Inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s plea that we respond to violence with a renewed resolve “to make music more intensely, more beautifully, and more devotedly than ever before,” we as artists have gotten together to create a musical response to the most recent tragedies. We hope you will join us in our efforts to unite our… Read More →
This fall VocalEssence hosts the U.S. premiere of The Voyage, a new piece by former King’s Singer and British composer Bob Chilcott, that connects singers across generations through music. Joining the VocalEssence Chorus will be singers from Minnesota Chorale’s Minneapolis Youth Chorus and Voices of Experience. Watch the video above produced for the premiere performance… Read More →
Annually VocalEssence partners with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) to offer in depth workshops about our concerts for older adults. OLLI at the University of Minnesota is a vital community of older adults who are brought together by their intellectual curiosity and love of learning. An affiliated program of the university’s College of Continuing Education,… Read More →
Director of Artistic Operations phone 612-547-1480 ethan@vocalessence.org Ethan Kellum Johnson joined the team at VocalEssence in the summer of 2019. As the Director of Artistic Operations, Ethan oversees the process of planning and executing the behind-the-scenes details of VocalEssence artistic programs, including concert production and Learning & Engagement programmatic events. Working with VocalEssence artists and… Read More →
You voted, and now VocalEssence and Classical MPR are preparing to reveal the listeners’ choice top 25 choral countdown. Whether you are a soprano, alto, tenor or bass, the VocalEssence Listeners’ Choice LIVE performances this April will wrap you in one big choral blanket of warmth. Our singers cannot hold in their excitement: “Both I… Read More →
