Community Celebration: Vocal Essence

Photo Credit © 2018 Caroline Yang

Tuesday, April 19, 2022 6:45-7:45PM

The CIES 2022 conference committee is thrilled to bring attendees an exciting performance by Minnesota’s world-renowned choral group, VocalEssence: Singers of this Age (SOTA).  SOTA is a multigenerational, multicultural group of performers who sing, dance, rap, and compose music that they share with the greater Minneapolis community.  Founded in 1969, the organization has commissioned more than 300 new musical pieces. The ensemble performs and engages with more than 20,000 people each year through concerts and performances, educational programming, competitions and community events and outreach.  Over 12,000 students have participated in their WITNESS program which celebrates African-American contributions to the American story. 

SOTA will share selections from their new performance, “Choosing Love” which debuts the following week on April 26, 2022. Through singing, movement, spoken word, and visual art, the performers invite CIES members to envision a world where we listen to and learn from each other. This concert affirms SOTA’s belief that every person is worthy of acceptance. It is a call, in the midst of it all, to choose idea/lism and love. The SOTA performance features new choral standards and co-created original works inspired by interactive workshops and conversations held in Twin Cities neighborhoods. SOTA will perform for approximately 45 minutes, then performers stay afterward to mingle with members and answer questions. All performers are students in local high schools.

We hope you will take advantage of this must-see event and invite you to explore their website https://www.vocalessence.org to learn more about this incredible organization.  Below are links to just two of their wonderful performances.