MINNEAPOLIS, MN – November 1, 2024 – This December, Cantus will present Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for our Time in nine venues throughout the Twin Cities. The “suave, smooth and perfect vocal blending” ( Boston Musical Intelligencer) of Cantus will be on display as the ensemble brings this beloved holiday concert experience to audiences in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Edina, Plymouth, Stillwater and Rochester from December 12-22. Cantus also presents the program on December 6 in Barrington, IL and December 8 in Newport, RI.
Committed to reaching audiences where they are, Cantus will also livestream the opening performance on December 12 for those who cannot make it to the live concerts. Audiences worldwide will be able to access the performance on-demand through January 2, 2025 in a pay-what-you-can format, starting at $5. On the afternoon of December 21, a special, pay-what-you-can, shortened family-friendly version of the holiday concert will be presented at Westminster Hall.
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 This season’s Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for Our Time follows the format of the Nine Lessons and Carols made famous by the Choir of King’s College at the University of Cambridge. Held first at King’s College in 1918 and adapted from E.W. Benson’s 1880 Christmas Eve service featuring “nine carols and nine tiny lessons,” Nine Lessons and Carols has become a timeless holiday tradition across the globe. Cantus’ Lessons and Carols for Our Time offers a modern interpretation of the Nine Lessons and Carols, blending poetry with sacred and secular song to both celebrate tradition and speak to the present moment. “Christmas with Cantus is our oldest and most treasured program,” says Cantus tenor Paul Scholtz. “We love to perform it on the road, but most of all, bring it home to our community here in the Twin Cities. It’s always a joy to perform choral music at this time of year, and the addition of readings curated by our collaborating poet, Chris Santiago, really grounds Lessons and Carols for our Time in deeper meaning and connection.” With their characteristic warmth and virtuosity, the low-voice ensemble weaves together Christmas favorites such as “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” and Saunder Choi’s incomparable setting of “Angels We Have Heard on High” alongside Sara Bareilles’ gently lilting “Love Is Christmas.” The program also spans a range of cultures and contexts from 12th-century chant by Hildegard von Bingen to Christian Onyeji’s thrilling version of “For unto us a child is born, Amuworo ayi otu nwa.” Christmas with Cantus | December 12-22, 2024
For tickets and information, visit cantussings.org or call the Cantus box office at 612-435-0055.
Thursday, December 12, 11:00 am – Westminster Hall, Minneapolis (online live and on-demand through Jan. 2)
Friday, December 13, 7:00 pm - Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester
Saturday, December 14, 7:30 pm - Capri Theatre, Minneapolis**
Sunday, December 15, 3:00 pm - St. Philip the Deacon, Plymouth
Monday, December 16, 7:30 pm – Hamline Church United Methodist, Saint Paul
Tuesday, December 17, 11:00 am - Meetinghouse Church, Edina
Thursday, December 19, 7:30 pm – Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, Saint Paul
Friday, December 20, 7:30 pm – Ordway Concert Hall, Saint Paul
Saturday, December 21, 3:30 pm – Westminster Hall, Minneapolis - family friendly**
Sunday, December 22, 3:00 pm - Trinity Lutheran, Stillwater
Repertoire
- Hildegard von Bingen (arr. Chris Foss): O Frondens Virga
- Linda Kachelmeier: We Toast the Days
- Traditional French (arr. Saunder Choi): Angels We Have Heard on High
- Traditional Spiritual (arr. Reginald Bowens): Go Tell It on the Mountain*
- Kim Gannon, Walter Kent (arr. Jo Goldsmith-Eteson): I’ll Be Home for Christmas*
- Nikolai Kedroff Sr. (arr. Vladimir Morosan): Otche nash
- Noël Regney & Gloria Shayne (arr. Chris Foss): Do You Hear What I Hear*
- Alexander Nishibun: The Oxen*
- Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman (arr. Jacob Christopher): Feed the Birds
- Franz Biebl: Ave Maria
- Traditional Georgian: Alilo (rachuli alilo)
- Michael Praetorius (arr. Alexander Nishibun): Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen*
- Sara Bareilles (arr. Jacob Christopher): Love is Christmas
- B.E. Boykin: O Magnum Mysterium
- Christian Onyeji: Amuworo ayi otu nwa (For unto us a child is born)
*new work for this program |
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About Cantus
Now in its 30th anniversary 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, creating programs that give voice to shared human experiences. As the Star Tribune has written, “The main hallmark of the Cantus sound has always been sheer quality and an unbroken belief in the special way that vocal music has of warming and invigorating the human spirit.”
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, Tanglewood and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Cantus also makes all of its home concerts available online. This pandemic-prompted innovation has brought the ensemble’s programs to audiences spanning 50 states and sixteen countries.
Cantus records for the UK-based Signum Classics label which has released the popular COVID-19 Sessions, Manifesto, and holiday album Into the Light. Cantus also has a deep catalog of recordings released on the group’s eponymous label.
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 2023, Cantus was honored with the Alice Parker Fund Award from Chorus America that recognizes the exemplary work of an ensemble that respectfully and authentically presents works incorporating Black and Latinx traditions and experiences. In line with Cantus’ ongoing commitment to fostering new works 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, the Canadian Brass, 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.
Integral to the Cantus mission is its commitment to preserve and strengthen music education in schools. Cantus works with more than 5,000 students each year in masterclass and workshop settings across the country and has been in-residence in 31 Minnesota high schools throughout their award-winning program’s 15-year history. In the 2023-24 season, Cantus deepened its commitment to students by creating the High School Mentorship program, which offers Cantus artists in-residence at one Twin Cities-based high school for the entirety of the school year. Cantus has also broadened its work by launching a yearly, statewide festival in partnership with American Choral Directors Association Minnesota catered to high school tenor and bass singers. Additionally, the ensemble hosts an annual Young and Emerging Composers Competition to encourage the creation of new repertoire through cash prizes, a performance, recording, and potential publication of winning composers.
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