Over the River and Through the Woods… with Maria Jette & Friends

Holiday Songs & Stories

Maestro Philip Brunelle and soprano Maria Jette are joined by baritone James Bohn in songs and stories for Thanksgiving, from merry to meditative: friends, family, food, and fauna…including a rare duet for two turkeys!

Featuring Maria Jette, Philip Brunelle & James Bohn!

Philip Brunelle, artistic director and founder of VocalEssence, is an internationally renowned conductor, choral scholar and visionary. He has made his lifelong mission the promotion of the choral art in all its forms, especially rarely heard works of the past and outstanding new music. Under his leadership, VocalEssence has commissioned more than 300 works to date. Philip has conducted symphonies (New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra among others) as well as choral festivals and operas on six continents.

Maria Jette has appeared with a long list of orchestras around the country, including our own The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and was a regular guest over many seasons at the San Luis Obispo Mozart and Oregon Bach Festivals and the Oregon Festival of American Music. At home in Minneapolis-St. Paul, she’s performed seemingly countless concerts with VocalEssence (under the baton of longtime friend and colleague, Philip Brunelle), Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and Lyra Baroque Orchestra. She was a regular guest for 20 years on Garrison Keillorʼs A Prairie Home Companion.

James Bohn is fondly recalled by hockey-loving Minnesotans for his seven year stint as the anthem singer for The Wild, but Twin Cities concertgoers know him for his long and colorful career in opera and oratorio, at Minnesota Opera, VocalEssence, and others—and before he was lured into the classical singing business, he sang rock & roll in his native land: River Falls, WI! Meanwhile, with his longtime remodeling business, Singular Design, he‘s re-made kitchens and bathrooms all over the Twin Cities.