2015-2016 CONCERT SEASON FALL CONCERTS season 47 2015 - 2016 Sponsored by Thrivent Financial DREAMS OF THE FALLEN | VOZ EN PUNTO | WELCOME CHRISTMAS | STAR OF WONDER Page 2 2015-2016 Season 2015-2016 Season Page 3 2015-2016 47TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON WELCOME Welcome to the 47th season of VocalEssence! Since the very first season our goal has been to offer a rich and wide variety of choral music from the past and present—and that will certainly be true this year! We open in October with Dreams of the Fallen, our salute to American Veterans, a program that will include music of the past (Vaughan Williams, Hanson, Barber and Canteloube) and the present (Hagen, Dessa and Runestad), sung by our combined VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers. With our friends from the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, this promises to be a glorious way to begin another great year. I am very pleased that for November’s VocalEssence Presents: Voz en Punto, the sensational vocal sextet from Mexico will make their Minnesota debut at the new Ordway Concert Hall. This ensemble is celebrating their 25th anniversary and is regarded as one of Mexico’s musical treasures—and for good reason, as you will hear! December brings us an old favorite, Welcome Christmas, giving us an opportunity to hear some of the beloved carols and hymns of the season (this year with a “big band”) as well as continuing our search for new carols through our Carol Contest— this year, music for voices and solo trumpet. You never know what that will bring! Everyone loves to sing at Christmas, so there will be plenty of opportunities for the audience to join the singers and our big band! We also will offer ourStar of Wonder concert for children of all ages (up to 100). Welcome once again to another fantastic season of music-making with VocalEssence. —Philip Brunelle Artistic Director and Founder, VocalEssence Page 2 2015-2016 Season 2015-2016 Season Page 3 VOCALESSENCE CONTENTS 1900 Nicollet Avenue VocaEssence ReMix: Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403 Composer Mentorships Yield Premieres ..................................... 5 612-547-1451 vocalessence.org New VocalEssence Program VocalEssence is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Inspires and Encourages Senior Singers .....................................6 CONCERT: Dreams of the Fallen ..................................................7 – 14 facebook.com/vocalessence twitter.com/vocalessencemn Community Engagement: linkedin.com/company/vocalessence Giving Voice to Veterans ................................................... 8 ¡Cantaré! and WITNESS BOARD OF ARTISTIC STAFF Education Programs Expand Impact ................................... 16 – 17 DIRECTORS Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director Mexican Sextet’s Immersion in Kathryn Roberts, Minnesota Communities ................................................. 18 President G. Phillip Shoultz, III, Fred Moore, Associate Conductor CONCERT: Vice President Mary Jo Gothmann, VocalEssence Presents: Voz en Punto ..................................19 – 27 Jacob Wolkowitz, Accompanist Treasurer CONCERT: ADMINISTRATIVE Welcome Christmas ..................................................29 – 37 Roma Calatayud-Stocks, Secretary STAFF Mary Ann Aufderheide, CONCERT: Mary Ann Aufderheide Executive Director Star of Wonder ......................................................39 – 41 Ann Barkelew Robert Graham, Traci V. Bransford About VocalEssence .................................................42 – 44 Philip Brunelle Education Manager and Judith Drobeck Music Librarian Debbie Estes Donor Spotlight: Ann Farrell Sharon Hodge, VocalEssence Mission Makes Giving Easy ................................... 45 Richard Ford Communications Wayne Gisslen Specialist Thank You, VocalEssence Donors ..................................... 46 – 50 Art Kaemmer, M.D. Joseph Kalkman Laura Holst, David L. Mona Development and David Myers Marketing Associate James M. Odland PLEASE NOTE: Eleanor Mears, Cay Shea Hellervik • Concerts will be recorded for broadcast—please help us keep the performance space quiet. Take Don Shelby Operations Manager and Executive Assistant a moment now to check that all cell phones, paging devices, wristwatch alarms and the like are Robert C. Smith turned off before the concert begins. Thank you for your cooperation. Timothy Takach Jenny L. Wade Kimberly Meisten, • Recording devices and cameras are prohibited. No photography, video, or audio recording is Dorene Wernke Director of allowed in the concert hall. Please abstain from texting, tweeting or checking your email during Community Engagement the concert. Honorary Directors Dominick Argento Patricia Starks-Faggétt, • Student and group discounts are available for most VocalEssence concerts. Half-price tickets are William Bolcom Accounting Manager available to students (ages 6-18 and college) with a student ID. Groups of 10 or more save 15% on Dave Brubeck* tickets. Children under age 6 are not allowed at VocalEssence performances, except for select Aaron Copland* Amanda Timmer, community and family concerts, including ¡Cantaré! and Star of Wonder. Education Associate Håkan Hagegård • Accessible seating is available at all of our concert venues. However, some of our facilities do Louise Heffelfinger Katrina Wallmeyer, not have elevator access to the balcony level. Please make your needs known when you order Eskil Hemberg* tickets. Betty Hulings* Director of Development James Earl Jones and Communications • You may return VocalEssence single concert tickets for resale up to 48 hours prior to a Garrison Keillor performance. No refunds or exchanges can be given; however, you will be sent a receipt for your Elissa Weller, Donald Mitchell tax-deductible contribution. (VocalEssence subscribers may call Grants and Special Helmuth Rilling 612-371-5642 to request free ticket exchanges and lost ticket replacement.) John Rutter Events Manager Peter Schickele • Latecomers will be seated at appropriate pauses in the concert according to the conductor’s Dr. André J. Thomas wishes. Please plan plenty of time for locating the concert venue and parking. Or better yet, allow Eric Whitacre an extra hour and join us for Concert Conversations with the composers and artists, held one hour before most concerts. *In remembrance Page 4 2015-2016 Season 2015-2016 Season Page 5 ROAD TO COMPOSERS’ Michael Maiorana, Minneapolis, Minnesota NOVEMBER PREMIERES STARTED WITH Composer Mentor: J. David Moore VOCALESSENCE REMIX PROGRAM Michael has written more than two dozen compositions, including commissions by the Central Iowa Symphony and the Grinnell Symphony Orchestra. He has a Bachelor of Arts in music from Grinnell College and served as assistant conductor of the Grinnell Singers and Grinnell Oratorio Society, as well as conductor and founder of the Grinnell New Music Choir. Why ReMix? “ … (A) new mentor would help grow, mold and motivate my compositional style, helping to find success with publishers and audiences. I’m really excited that the Twin Cities area is full of great choral opportunities …” Liam Moore, St. Paul, Minnesota Composer Mentor: Libby Larsen Liam has composed 27 choral and instrumental pieces; he has spent 17 years as a member of various choral ensembles, eight On November 20, 2015, the VocalEssence ReMix program years with orchestral ensembles, and 12 years performing popular culminates in the premiere of four Minnesota composers’ styles of music. Liam has been commissioned by trombonist Ty works at the annual American Choral Directors Association of Peterson and saxophonist Scottie W. Wright, and last year received Minnesota State Conference. The program began a year ago, when an ASCAP Plus Award. VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum announced the call for submissions with a deadline of April 1, 2015. Four Why ReMix? “(A) premiere at an ACDA-MN (American Choral talented, emerging composers/songwriters were then selected to Directors Association of Minnesota) conference with its receptive have a six-month one-on-one composer mentorship as they each audience, possible publication and a chance to work with a wrote a choral work. In addition to the composer mentorships, all professional chorus and celebrated local composers, all rolled into composers and mentors met with VocalEssence Artistic Director one? Sounds like heaven!” and Founder Philip Brunelle and a quartet from the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers for a one-day summer workshop. Through the experience of writing short pieces and hearing them read by the Daniel Smith, St. Paul, Minnesota singers, they learned some of the finer points of writing for voices. Composer Mentor: Timothy C. Takach VocalEssence is grateful for the Jerome Foundation’s support of ReMix. Daniel studied music theory and composition at the University of Minnesota Duluth and is now studying composition and songwriting at McNally Smith College of Music. His compositions 2015 VOCALESSENCE REMIX COMPOSERS include pieces for solo bassoon and string trio as well as a film trailer. His vocal experience includes ensembles at McNally Smith Emily Feld, Rosemount, Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Duluth. Composer Mentor: Carol Barnett Why ReMix? “I believe that mainstream music could learn a Emily graduated in May with a bachelor of music degree in piano lot from vocal music harmonically. There is so much room for performance from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. dissonance and close harmonies that just is not present in current She has written several choral and instrumental compositions, and popular music. I want