Heralded by the London Times as “a superb American choir…an engaging group, polished, bright and brilliantly balanced,” the 32-voice professional VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, founded in 1991, are recognized internationally by their extensive European tours, broadcasts via the European Broadcasting Union and two invitation-only appearances at the World Choral Symposium (1999 and 2002), the world’s most prestigious global gathering of choral music. The group is perhaps best known in America for their frequent appearances on the internationally-distributed radio show A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Garrison Keillor. The Ensemble Singers serve as the professional core of the larger 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 by conductor Philip Brunelle, who was invested as an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2005.