Vaughn Ormseth

To learn a new work of music takes dedication and practice. Dedication and practice in turn help develop what's known as a musician's technique - not just fluency with the work itself and its composer's ideas, but mastery of various musical effects the composer and performer use to express those ideas. Performers who master the technique of a particularly challenging work while also being able play with sensitivity and poetry - with soul - are said to play with virtuosity.

In the early 1780s, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed a serenade later nicknamed "Gran Partita." The serenade's sublime third movement, its Adagio, is one of the most beautiful and poignant in all classical music.

"Hearing Susan's and Mary Beth's stories reaffirmed that communal singing, like all variations on the arts in this culture-rich state, is not merely a 'nice to have' -- it deepens our connections with each other and our communities at a time when those ties are fraying." Vaughn Ormseth shares how music can bring people together even in the toughest of circumstances.

This past Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, Bring the Sing returned to Rochester for an event that celebrated and honored the civil-rights icon. Listen to the audio and check out the photos from that event.

Sociologists speak of class envy, students of grade envy and Freudians of penis envy. But in the choral world (and what is the choral world, after all, but a trembling microcosm of the very world itself?), it's tenor envy that seethes just beneath the surface.

Cellist Nygel Witherspoon, a 2017 Minnesota Varsity Showcase Artist, took first place in the 22nd Annual Sphinx Junior Division Honors Concert held Friday in Detroit's Fischer Music Center.

Spanish composer, pianist, and conductor Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) based his beloved work 'Asturias' on a kind of Spanish dance known as flamenco, which involves intricate footwork, brightly colored costumes, and a wide range of emotion. 'Asturias' also vividly demonstrates the ABA form, in which a work's opening and concluding melodic theme book-ends a distinctly different theme. This video introduces young students to the music through guitarist Milena Petkovic's masterful performance of it, and describes its underlying rhythm, inspiration, and structure.

French composer Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) was the only female member of "Les Six," a group of composers who worked together in Paris. Her works are distinguished by their use of color--or timbre, as it is known in music--as well as their beauty and unconcealed emotion. This video introduces young students to the concept of timbre through Tailleferre's work Ballade.

On Sunday, pianist Jeremy Walker and three Twin Cities musical luminaries team up at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis for the premiere of 'Haunted Blue,' Walker's latest album featuring music inspired by poetry and the mystique of night.

Classical MPR's mass choral events known as Bring the Sing have harmonized around the state, but they've never graced the Minnesota State Fair. Until this summer! Join us Friday, Aug. 31, as the beloved men's vocal ensemble Cantus, with Classical MPR host Steve Staruch, leads our community singalong at the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

For the first time since 2014, much-beloved former Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra artistic partner and international pop star Bobby McFerrin returns to Minnesota with his ensemble Voicestra for eight performances at the Dakota in Minneapolis.

For the first time since 2014, much-beloved former Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Artistic Partner and international pop star Bobby McFerrin returns to Minnesota this week with his quartet Voicestra for eight performances.

On April 14, Bring the Sing ventured outside Minnesota for the first time for the final event of its 2017-18 season in an undisputed hotbed of choral music: Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Check out the photos and audio from this wonderful vocal get-together.

Bring the Sing made its third visit to Duluth's College of St. Scholastica on March 24, drawing community singers from around Minnesota's Northland and elsewhere to blend their voices with the college's own singers. Check out the photos and audio from this wonderful vocal get-together.

Perhaps the Twin Cities' most magical event all year is the Luminary Loppet, a highlight of the urban cross-country ski festival's string of winter events. This year's event on Saturday, Feb. 3, added some quintessentially Minnesota attractions, including music performed solely on instruments carved of frozen water.

Class Notes Artists made its first visit to the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind on Monday with a performance by the Mirandola Ensemble.

Oboist Sarrah Bushara first came to our attention as a Minnesota Varsity Showcase Artist in 2014 and '15. But these days, she and two colleagues at the Curtis Institute of Music are scoring millions of views thanks to a video that has gone viral on social media.

Cellist Nygel Witherspoon has enjoyed more success since his performance last spring at the Minnesota Varsity Showcase Concert, including an appearance with the Minnesota Orchestra and a front-page newspaper profile.

On Oct. 14, the mass choral event Bring the Sing brought another community together as one voice, two cities famous for their choral traditions: Fargo and Moorhead.

In April, Bring the Sing brought its community-choir magic to the birthplace of Classical MPR, Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn., capping a two-day celebration there of MPR's 50th anniversary. G. Phillip Shoultz, III led choirs from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, as well as nearly 400 singers drawn from central Minnesota and from around the state. Listen to audio highlights and view a slideshow of photos from the event.