Philip Brunelle

Artistic Director and Founder Philip Brunelle will be spending the last part of April and early May concluding plans for the 53rd VocalEssence season and also hearing many, many singers for their spring auditions. This is always an important part of the year, inviting wonderful voices to be part of the upcoming VocalEssence season.

The month of May will bring closure to Philip’s Musical Moments, with 250 composers individually featured over the past 15 months! This has been an incredible journey during this pandemic–a time to feature composers who have had a role to play with VocalEssence over the past 52 years! The wonderful thing is that all the material presented has been archived and we are creating ways to share this information with young conductors from around the USA and beyond. More information on this will be shared with you as it develops.

G. Phillip Shoultz, III

Associate Conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III is in the middle of a highly creative and involved season with the return to in-person activities at Westwood Lutheran Church and his first in-person, out-of-state gig with the Alabama All-State Choir this week. The trip will give him the opportunity to see his family for the first time since 2019!

Another reason for him to feel celebratory is the phenomenal premiere of Create with VESOTA, which one patron called “just so darn good” and another said “was so inspirational that you leave feeling buzzed and ready to make change.” He also just finished leading the Chorus and Ensemble Singers through recording sessions for WITNESS, and is now in the process of curating the concert with our audio and visual editors.

The events of the past week continue to underscore why it is so important for us to have the conversations that GPS is leading across the country around racial equity and social justice. Over the next month, he will lecture, lead workshops, and consult with groups from Oregon to Massachusetts, and right here in the Twin Cities.