Minnesota's Legacy

Founded in 1969, Minneapolis-based VocalEssence has decades of history as one of the world's premier choral music organizations. But despite its global influence, VocalEssence has kept its focus local—consistently pioneering ways to strengthen Minnesota's community through thrilling musical experiences.

Creators and Guests

BA
Producer
Britt Aamodt
ER
Producer
Eemanna Rivers

What is Minnesota's Legacy?

Minnesota's Legacy showcases the organizations and the people who have benefited from Minnesota’s Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment in sound-rich 90-second segments.

Opening: This is Minnesota's Legacy: A look at the organizations and people who have benefitted from Minnesota's unique Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.

PHILIP BRUNELLE: Singing is healthy. It's healthy not only physically, it's healthy mentally, it's healthy emotionally. And hey, what more wonderful thing can you do than sing?

BRITT AAMODT: That's artistic director Philip Brunelle. At eighty-plus years strong, he's been with Minneapolis choral music group VocalEssence since its founding in 1969.

BRUNELLE: We really wanted to be sure that everything we did was going to be of the highest quality and would reach people where they wanted to be reached, which is, of course, through the emotion of singing.

AAMODT: A mission that VocalEssence continues today with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund—and music that challenges audiences to look beyond the standard choral repertoire. VocalEssence music

BRUNELLE: We are always exploring new music, finding things. It's going to be a lot of music that they are going to say, wow, I never heard that piece. And the important thing for us is to do it well, and the important thing for them is to experience the variety and the range of what's out there in the music World.

Closing: Minnesota's Legacy is a production of AMPERS, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, more at ampers dot org.