Musical Moments

friend so it made sense to begin “Musical Moments” with him… not knowing how many sessions would follow! The second day featured the Norwegian composer Egil Hovland, another friend and a man who came to Minneapolis on several occasions when his music was heard in VocalEssence concerts and on Sunday mornings at Plymouth Church.

and, I believe, created a warmth for each one I did not have a number of sessions on which to end but as we approached 250 my son and I agreed that 300 would be a great finale Actually the project encompasses a total of 330 videos, of which 320 feature one composer, five feature eight composers, four discuss general topics related to choirs, and one is a conversation with my son about the project Though I narrated all the sessions myself I was pleased to have some of the noted vocalists living in the Twin Cities assist me for sessions that I felt would be enhanced with a solo voice

“Musical Moments” episodes are available online at: They are now are also available on the ACDA website: he celebrated his 52nd anniversary with VocalEssence and at Plymouth Church and looks forward to his 53rd season with both organizations.

Philip is the recipient of the Weston H. Noble Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the North Central American Choral Directors Association; the F. Melius Christiansen Lifetime Achievement Award, American Choral Directors Association-Minnesota Chapter’s highest honor; and the Michael Korn Founder’s Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art, Chorus America’s highest lifetime achievement award.

It was a delight to recall personal experiences during these sessions – dinner with Olivier Messiaen, giving Dave Brubeck a theme to improvise on, watching Conrad Susa play games with my children, visiting composers in their homes – all of which made the sessions personal for the listener that summer was Artistic Director of the 2017 China (Qiandongnan) International Folk Song Choral Festival in Kaili, China. He also served on the national boards of the National Council for the Arts (NEA), Chorus America, the American Composers Forum and the American Guild of Organists. For more than 40 years he served as a guest conductor and pianist on American Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion, appearing on the very first and the final broadcasts and many in between. Since January 1982 he has written “Choral Old and New”, a column for The American Organist. In 2021,