Hosted by VocalEssence, Philip Brunelle – Artistic Director
Thursday, November 20, 2014
The thermometer read 15 degrees the day YPC
arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul, but with the sun-filled sky and the warm
welcomes from everyone we met, we didn’t feel cold at all.
As soon as we stepped off the plane in
Minnesota, MaryAnn Aufderheide, the executive director of VocalEssence, the
professional choir that was presenting us, was waiting with a bus
to take the choristers to the first workshop of their trip.
At Johnson Senior High School they were met by
four choirs from three St. Paul high schools for a few hours of musical
sharing. With YPC, there were more than
200 choristers in the hall. Francisco
first worked with each of the high school choirs; then YPC drew great applause
when they sang a 15-minute preview of their concert program.
Singing with new friends at Johnson Senior
High School
But the best was yet to come. Within about 20 minutes Francisco taught all
of the choristers “Es Tu Tiempo” and had them all on their feet rocking to the
song’s gospel/Latin groove. Afterwards,
the YPC choristers, together with their new friends, all gave themselves a
standing ovation.
That evening after a pizza party and concert
at Roseville High School, the choristers were welcomed by generous families for
home stays in the area.
Pizza party at Roseville High School
Friday, November 21, 2014
After a good night’s rest and hot breakfasts
with their host families from the Roseville Area High School and the Roseville
Lutheran Church, the YPC choristers arrived at Roseville Area High School for
two more high school workshops, this time with the Roseville choruses they had
seen in concert the night before. This
time Francisco taught them a different song, “Nothing More,” which was
accompanied by and began with a solo by Nick.
It included the refrain, “We are
love; We are one; We are how we treat each other when the day is done. We are Peace; We are War; We are how we treat
each other and Nothing More.”
Francisco in workshop with Roseville High
School students
YPC joins Roseville High School choristers in
song accompanied by Nick
The rest of the day was a blur of exciting
events and experiences.
YPC traveled by bus to the Minnesota Public Radio station in St.
Paul where they were welcomed by Brian Newhouse, MPR Managing
Director of Classical Programming. We were accompanied to the recording studio
by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, MPR’s
Choral Stream Representative, to
sing several songs, which were recorded for national broadcast on American
Public Media’s popular “Performance Today” program hosted by Fred Child. This radio show is aired on 240 cities across
the country.
 |
| Selfie with Tesfa Wondemagegnehu at MPR |
MPR RecordingYPC through MPR control room window
Choristers leave while singing to cheering MPR
staff members.
From there, the YPC choristers were whisked
off to sing at a Minnesota State ACDA [American Choral Directors Association]
gathering, where Elizabeth opened with a speech. Here they entered singing to set the stage
for a workshop by Francisco and a short performance.
Elizabeth and Francisco address ACDA members
Then, what the YPC choristers were all waiting
for—a visit to the largest mall in the U.S.—the Mall of America, complete with
an amusement park of great rides, the perfect ending to a very busy and
satisfying day.
Mall of America
Saturday, November 22
The morning
of the big concert, the choristers, pumped and ready to work, were dropped off
by their home-stay hosts at the performance site, the beautiful Roseville
Lutheran Church.
For five
hours, if they weren’t working with Francisco, the YPC singers were off in
groups sharpening their musical performances or perfecting some tricky
choreography by our very own Jacquie Bird.
Francisco rehearses YPC
at Roseville Lutheran Church
At 5 p.m. the
choristers boarded the bus heading for the newly refurbished Ordway Theater in
St. Paul to give a short 15-minute performance at an Ordway Circle of the Stars
Gala for the Ordway education programs sponsored by Travelers. They entered a
huge formal reception area where the gala with a 1940’s theme was underway,
with men in tuxedos and women in luxurious gowns and glistening jewels. The audience, which had been
chatting loudly, went absolutely silent when YPC started singing. They didn’t want to miss a thing, and when
the choristers walked through the crowd singing, the gorgeous harmonies filled the hall, and the
sophisticated crowd couldn’t help themselves but cheer.
YPC Sings at Ordway Gala
With no time
to waste, it was back on the bus to Roseville and the highlight of the
tour: a two-hour, sold-out concert at
Roseville Lutheran Church
Back
on bus
The concert
was attended by a who’s who of choral conductors, singers, and other
dignitaries, such as the illustrious Dale Warland and his wife, composer Jake
Runestad and Timothy C. Takach (who arranged one of the concert pieces sung by
the Young Men). The audience also included many Minnesota ACDA members who had
traveled for this special event, which closed the conference.
Composer Timothy C. Takach speaks to the Young Men prior
to the concert
The audience
members were stunned by YPC’s performances—amazed not
only by the skill of the singers to sing exquisitely while executing difficult
choreographic moves, but also how they were able move from pure classical to
folk to contemporary to jazz, etc., etc. employing a variety of so many vocal
techniques in quick succession.
YPC in Performance at Roseville Lutheran Church
The first
standing ovation came just before intermission but there was so much more to
come. And when the choristers finished the program the audience was on its feet wanting more,
more, more. YPC’s encore wasn’t enough so they sang one more with Francisco urging the audience to sing (or shout) along. The whooping, clapping, and stomping did not stop
until the choristers, singing and dancing up the aisles and shaking hands along
the way, filed out of the space.
In the lobby,
the audience members were charmed to be able to meet with the chorus members,
ask questions, and take lots of selfies.
They also scooped up dozens of YPC CDs.
There is going to be an awful lot of YPC holiday music in
Minneapolis/St. Paul homes this year.
YPC choristers greeting audience
members.
Sunday, November 23
The last
performance of the tour took place at the 10:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Sunday service
of the Plymouth Congregational Church, where our good friend Philip Brunelle,
the Artistic Director of VocalEssence, is the organist and choirmaster.
Catherine
Crooks, the minister for member care of the church, welcomed the chorus with heart-warming
remarks and told the congregation that the concert she attended the previous
evening changed her life and the lives of the other audience members.
The audience
responded to the songs by YPC in this service of thanksgiving with loud
applause and tears running down their cheeks.
On the way to
the airport, the chorus members reminisced about their short but event-filled
time in the Twin Cities and how generous and sweet everyone was to them.
YPC would like to thank VocalEssence
and its wonderful staff, especially MaryAnn Aufderheide and
Philip Brunelle for hosting our tour to the Twin Cities; the engineers and
staff members of MPR; Rev. Catherine Crooks and the staff at the Roseville
Lutheran Church; and of course our host families from the Roseville Area High
School Chorus and Roseville Lutheran Church.
We are so grateful for the support and
gracious response from the Twin Cities community.
Goin’ Home
Photos by Christopher Hall, Nancy Bloom, and Bruce Silcox
