Virgil Thomson | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer Virgil Thomson. Find more from the Musical Moments project on our website: Recorded November 24, 2020, at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Virgil Thomson 1896-1989 Virgil Thomson was a many-faceted American composer of great originality as well as a music critic of singular brilliance. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, his early connection to music came through the church, through piano lessons beginning at age 5, and stints accompanying theatricals and silent films. The music he heard was part and parcel of the wide world around him: Civil War songs, cowboy songs, the blues, barn-dance music, Baptist hymns, and folk songs. After attending high school and a local junior college, he joined the army and was stationed