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Welcome Christmas 2023 Digital Concert Program
FEATURING: VocalEssence Chorus VocalEssence Ensemble Singers VocalEssence Singers Of This Age VocalEssence Vintage Voices Brass and Percussion Ensemble Casey Rafn, piano Mary Jo Gothmann, organ Philip Brunelle, conductor G . Phillip Shoultz, III, conductor
Elijah McCoy | 28 Days of Black Excellence
On this final day of February, GPS continues to highlight Black excellence by introducing us to the work of Elijah McCoy, an inventor and engineer who has over 57 patents to his name that touch on many facets of our everyday lives. Our musical inspiration is in the form of Duke Ellington’s legendary ballad, “Come… Read More →
Charles-Marie Widor | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Charles-Marie Widor. Charles-Marie Widor 1844-1937 Charles-Marie Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher known primarily for his organ symphonies. At age 11 he became the organist at the lycée in Lyons. Upon the recommendation… Read More →
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 1844-1908 The Russian composer and educator Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was a luminary of orchestral orchestrations. Born in Tikhvin into an aristocratic family, Rimsky-Korsakov showed musical ability from an early age but instead… Read More →
Peter Cornelius | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle
In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Peter Cornelius. This episode features Mezzo-Soprano Clara Osowski. Peter Cornelius 1824-1874 Peter Cornelius’s versatility as a composer, writer, and translator makes him one of the most distinguished German composers of the 19th-century. Born into a… Read More →
Composers Datebook: “Welcome Christmas” Carol Contest
By John Birge | Your Classical Published: Sunday, December 6 “Welcome Christmas” Carol Contest Synopsis On today’s date in 1998, two brand-new Christmas carols debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the “Welcome Christmas” choral concert of VocalEssence conducted by Philip Brunelle. The two carols, “Sweet Noel” by Joan Griffith and “The Virgin’s Cradle Hymn” by Richard… Read More →
When Jesus Wept – Billings, William / VocalEssence Asia Pacific Tour (2014-2015)
Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?, op 78, no 3 – Mendelssohn, Felix / Romance in E minor (2012-2013)
Star Tribune Story: “Say Amen: Gospel scholar André Thomas headlines this year’s annual Witness concert”
By ROHAN PRESTON, Star TribuneLast update: March 4, 2011 After leading a group of singers in a workshop at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, renowned Florida choral director André Thomas lingered to sign scores of his own compositions and arrangements. The fans last Sunday included former students, devotees of choral music and a fair-haired… Read More →