Cantus and Chanticleer Perform Together Again on January 30, 2022 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – January 4, 2022 – On Sunday, January 30th, the acclaimed vocal ensemble Cantus welcomes the return of Chanticleer to the Twin Cities to perform together again at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. This performance follows the ensembles’ 2016 sold-out collaborative concert that the Pioneer-Press dubbed “an exhilarating evening.” During this one-time-only event, two of the country’s most acclaimed vocal ensembles, the Twin Cities-based Cantus and San Francisco Bay area’s Chanticleer will come together to perform selections of their own before joining forces.
 
“Our first concert with Chanticleer in 2016 was electric for anyone who was lucky enough to be in the audience or onstage and we’ve been looking forward to doing it again ever since,” says Paul Scholtz of Cantus. “As the nation’s only two full-time classical vocal ensembles, we have a lot in common and a unique appreciation for what it means to sing – and often live – in such a tight community. We bring that understanding and energy to our music-making together and we know our audiences will sense that chemistry and mutual admiration.”
 
Concert repertoire will incorporate works from the 15^th and 16^th centuries to today with composers including Claudio Monteverdi, Josquin des Prez, Antonín Dvorák, Craig Hella Johnson, Melissa Dunphy, Alice Parker, Margaret Bonds and Pasek & Paul. This performance will be livestreamed online on January 30 and available on demand through 3pm CST on February 6. 
 
Cantus and Chanticleer
January 30 at 3 pm - Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis
Adults: $130 / $80 / $50 / $30  
Visit www.cantussings.org or call 612-435-0055 for tickets
For audiences outside the Twin Cities: Livestream at 3 pm CST on January 30 will be available on-demand until 3 pm CST on February 6. 
Tickets: Pay-What-You-Can (Suggested: $34)  

Covid-19 Safety Guidelines: Orchestra Hall requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result taken within 72 hours. Visit https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/plan-your-visit/safety/ for more information.

About Cantus
Now in its 27^th season, the “engaging” (New Yorker) low-voice ensemble Cantus is widely known for its trademark warmth and blend, innovative programming and riveting performances of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. The Washington Post has hailed the Cantus sound as having both “exalting finesse” and “expressive power” and refers to the “spontaneous grace” of its music making. The Philadelphia Inquirer called the group nothing short of “exquisite.”
 
As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has come to prominence with its distinctive approach to creating music. Working without a conductor, the members of Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the entirety of the artistic process.
 
Cantus enjoys a vigorous schedule of national and international touring, in addition to home concerts in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Cantus has performed at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, UCLA, San Francisco Performances, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
 
In the 2020-21 season, Cantus stayed true to its artistic vision and commitment to innovation in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, producing seven all-new online programs that reached audiences spanning 50 states and seven countries, and garnering praise for how "the sheer quality of singing somehow melted the barriers of online communication” (Star Tribune). The ensemble adapted its award-winning education programs to the pandemic, working virtually with high schools and universities both locally and nationally. Cantus also released its popular COVID-19 Sessions on the Signum Classics label, followed by Manifesto, an album of world premiere recordings of works by Ysaÿe Barnwell, David Lang, Sydney Guillaume, Libby Larsen, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and others.
 
Committed to the expansion of the vocal music repertoire, Cantus actively commissions new music and seeks to unearth rarely performed repertoire for low voices. Cantus has received commissioning grants from New Music USA, the National Endowment for the Arts, Chorus America, American Composers Forum and Chamber Music America. In line with Cantus’ ongoing commitment to fostering new works and expanding the repertoire for tenors, baritones, and basses, the ensemble has partnered with composer and former Cantus bass Timothy C. Takach and Graphite Publishing on the Cantus Choral Series, distributing Cantus’ signature arrangements and compositions for ensembles everywhere to perform and enjoy.
 
Cantus has a rich history of collaborations with other performing arts organizations, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Chanticleer, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Lorelei Ensemble, Theater Latté Da and the James Sewell Ballet. The ensemble is heard frequently on both classical public radio nationwide and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.  Cantus has released 20 recordings with Signum Classics as well as on the group’s self-titled label.
 
Integral to the Cantus mission is its commitment to preserve and deepen music education in the schools. Cantus works with more than 5,000 students each year in masterclass and workshop settings across the country, and has visited 31 Minnesota high schools throughout the 13-year history of its award-winning High School Residency program. Cantus also presents a Young and Emerging Composers’ Competition, to encourage the creation of new repertoire through cash prizes, a performance, recording and publication of winning compositions.
 
About Chanticleer
The GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer has been hailed as “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker and is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity.  Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling over one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the world.
 
Chanticleer’s repertoire is rooted in the renaissance, and has continued to expand to include a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz, popular music, and a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has committed much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, garnering GRAMMY® Awards for its recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations & Praises”, and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled “Colors of Love”.  Chanticleer is the recipient of the Dale Warland/Chorus America Commissioning Award and the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, and its Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings received the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African-American choral tradition during his tenure with Chanticleer. 
 
Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer continues to maintain ambitious programming in its hometown of San Francisco, including a large education and outreach program that recently reached over 8,000 people, and an annual concert series that includes its legendary holiday tradition “A Chanticleer Christmas”. 

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