Cantus, Monday, September 14, 2009, 7:30 PM

Cantus , America 's newest full-time vocal ensemble sings with one of the freshest and most engaging sounds in choral music today. This fabulous nine member ensemble consists of tenors, baritones and basses. In September of 2000, with no singer over the age of 25, Cantus established itself as a full-time ensemble, making its home in Minneapolis , MN . Originating as an amateur group of singers from the renowned choral program at St. Olaf College in Northfield , MN , the group has now performed throughout the U.S. , as guest artist with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, at the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA) national and regional conventions, the Teton Music Festival, the Newport Music Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, AmericaFest and the 6 th World Symposium on Choral Music. Cantus has also been featured on numerous public radio stations including NPR's ”Performance Today,” and has performed for concert associations throughout the US . Cantus regularly conducts educational clinics and workshops to inspire and encourage singers of all ages.

Their wide ranging program repertoire may include such interesting pieces as African Jazz, a Hebrew folk song, an English sea shanty, an African American spiritual, a Scottish folk song, an Irish work song, and in a more serious vein you may also hear some classical male choral works as well as some of your particular favorites like “Danny Boy” and “Prayer of the Children”. Cantus sings all of their songs a cappella and without amplification.

Enjoying a successful blend of national tours, subscription concerts in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul and recording projects, Cantus is gaining recognition as one of America 's finest professional male vocal ensembles. The ensemble's performances are met with overwhelming praise for its unique blend of youthful vitality and polished nuance. Their repertoire spans many periods and genres, including Gregorian chant, Renaissance motets, contemporary sacred works, art songs, world music, spirituals, and pop. Cantus' singing has been called “spontaneous grace” by the Washington Post and “wonderful” by the L.A. Times.

The Washington Post called the singers' sound "beaming and elastic" and referred to their music as "spontaneous grace." Stereophile Magazine said that "the sheer beauty of the unaccompanied male voices [and the] art of [these] professional singers proved overwhelming." And The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported: "The Minnesotans come across as down-to-earth types who present their music with the eagerness of hometown guys singing for the pleasure of friends and neighbors."

The Los Angeles Times said "Cantus is a splendid, relatively new male a cappella choral group that swells the ranks of our current golden age of ensemble singing in a distinctive way." And the Times added: "Other groups aim for a honeyed but disembodied sound. Cantus matches that blend, but it also revels in a heft of sound hardly imagined possible from 10 men singing without accompaniment."

The Houston Chronicle said that a "weekend visit by Minnesota-based Cantus was a forceful reminder that professional male vocal ensembles are thriving," and that Cantus produces "a robust sound inviting for its warmth, vigor and flexibility with an obvious love for the music and their work.

http://www.singers.com/choral/cantus.html