2026-2027 VocalEssence WITNESS Partner School Agreement 

Thank you for your interest in the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program!



Thanks to continued funding from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies and other generous program sponsors, we are delighted to offer the entire program to all participating schools completely free of charge!


As a program partner, your school will also receive access to two free days of classroom workshops with a VocalEssence Teaching Artist, a program orientation with professional development for teachers, access to classroom resources, and a field trip for your students to attend the annual VocalEssence WITNESS Young People’s Concert on Friday, February 26, 2027 at 10:00 AM and 11:35 AM. After a few years away, we are thrilled to return to beautiful Orchestra Hall in Downtown Minneapolis, and look forward to sharing this world-class venue with you and your students.
* The 11:35 AM performance will also be livestreamed and made available for viewing on demand with any student groups unable to attend the live concert.

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This form outlines the terms and conditions of participation in the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program for the 2026-2027 school year. You, as the Primary Contact for your school, as well as your principal and/or arts coordinator, must read this agreement carefully and check the boxes, where indicated, to confirm your agreement to the terms of participation. When this confirmation is complete, you will be then be directed to the Program Registration Form to submit information about your school. 

VocalEssence WITNESS
 
Full Name of School

The school agrees to:

  • Have the workshops approved and endorsed by the principal and/or arts coordinator.
  • Provide a primary contact person and a list of other teachers participating in the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program via the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program Registration Form. (Note: you will be directed to the registration form upon submitting this agreement.)
  • Provide the VocalEssence Teaching Artist and students with the necessary physical space and materials for the workshops. 
  • Acknowledge participation in the VocalEssence WITNESS School Program in all publications with the following credit: “The VocalEssence WITNESS School Program is an educational service of VocalEssence. More information at www.vocalessence.org.”
  • Allow participating students and teachers to attend one VocalEssence WITNESS Young People’s Concert on Friday, February 26, 2027 at 10:00 AM or 11:35 AM (tickets are FREE for 2026-2027).



Primary contact and all participating teachers agree to:

  • Attend the VocalEssence WITNESS Teacher Orientation Seminar on Saturday, September 26, 2026 (It is important that at least one teacher or administrator attend in order for your school to participate in the program; if no representative(s) attend, we will need to schedule time to bring your teachers up to date on all of the information covered in order to participate.)
  • Promptly complete additional forms provided by VocalEssence throughout the duration of the 2026-2027 VocalEssence WITNESS School Program
  • Participate in the pre-workshop planning meeting 2-3 weeks prior to the workshop with the VocalEssence Teaching Artist to establish what the artist will teach and what the participating classroom teachers need to do to successfully prepare students for the workshops
  • Prepare students for the workshops and concert by utilizing the classroom resources and activities included in the online VocalEssence WITNESS Classroom Resource Hub
  • Complete any follow-up work requested by the Teaching Artist prior between workshop visits
  • Distribute and complete the evaluation surveys provided by VocalEssence, including arranging for appropriate district-level permissions to distribute student surveys, as required by your school. Note that student evaluation methods may include opportunities for students to provide feedback through interactive, participatory activities during workshops with VocalEssence Teaching Artists.



In return for your acceptance of these terms, VocalEssence agrees to:

  • Provide two free days of workshops with a VocalEssence Teaching Artist who is compatible with the school’s needs and environment. Note that while schools will have the opportunity to propose their top four artist choices, they may be paired with an artist that falls outside of their preferences due to artist availability.
  • Provide schools with free tickets to attend the WITNESS Young People's Concert
  • Provide schools with classroom resources to engage students throughout the school year
  • Facilitate communication with teachers and VocalEssence Teaching Artists to schedule the workshops and pre-workshop planning meeting at times that work for the school and the VocalEssence Teaching Artist
  • Provide teachers with professional development through VocalEssence WITNESS Teacher Orientation, where teachers learn about the program, our special guest artists and the program's curricular resources, earn up to 3 clock hours of CEU credit, and interact with our roster of VocalEssence Teaching Artists
  • Provide assessment tools to evaluate the workshop experiences and student learning

The VocalEssence Teaching Artist will:

  • Participate in the pre-workshop planning meeting
  • Establish a partnership with teachers to present workshops that relate to the VocalEssence WITNESS theme, classroom resource materials, and are appropriate for the specified grade level and school community
  • Have open discussions with the teachers about the workshop goals and objectives, follow-up instruction, assessment, school policies on addressing student behavior
  • Be on time for all meetings and workshops





If this is the same person as the Principal and/or Arts Coordinator, please repeat your name.



By checking the boxes and providing the requested information above, both my principal and/or arts coordinator and I acknowledge our acceptance to the terms and conditions for participation as a 2026-2027 VocalEssence WITNESS Partner School. 

Click "Submit" below and you will be directed to provide registration information about your school via the Program Registration Form.  Thanks!

Contact Information