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PHILIP BRUNELLE

For 38 years, Philip Brunelle has been organist and choirmaster at Plymouth Church, where he succeeded his organ teacher, Arthur B. Jennings. Jennings was preceded by Hamlin Hunt, and together these three organists served the twentieth century at Plymouth Church.

The sacred music program at Plymouth Church is known locally and nationally for its outstanding senior choir, its superb 1981 Holtkamp organ of 89 ranks and its glorious service music each Sunday. Hymn singing and the improvisations with which Philip Brunelle introduces the hymns are a weekly inspiration for members and visitors alike.

In addition to his duties at Plymouth Church, Philip Brunelle is the founder and artistic director of  VocalEssence (formerly the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota) — a chorus and orchestra institution not related to the church but providing a full season of concerts devoted to innovative programming. He served on the board of directors of Chorus America, served by Presidential appointment on the National Council on the Arts and is active in the American Guild of Organists and American Choral Directors Association.

He has been awarded honorary doctorates by St. Olaf College, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. John's University and United Theological Seminary. He has received international awards, including the Kodaly Medal from the government of Hungary and the Royal Order of the Polar Star from the King of Sweden.

Philip Brunelle's recordings are found on the Virgin Classics, Collins Classics, RCA, Angel and Rivertown labels. He's a long-time collaborator with Garrison Keillor as his orchestra conductor and with the Ensemble Singers on "A Prairie Home Companion." He was president of the board for the Sixth World Choral Symposium which was held in Minneapolis in August 2002, the first time ever in the U.S.

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