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Cantus

“exalting finesse and expressive power”
— The Washington Post

 

  • Now in its 28th season, 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.

  • In the 2022-23 season, Cantus will perform Song of the Universal – a program exploring how people across time and geography experience the divine. Experiencing God is not exclusive to the historic or religious. Music, nature, and community can evoke holiness in our homes, spirituality in our surroundings, and the universal in our souls. Weaving together music and spoken word, Cantus touches on faith traditions across cultures, performing works from ancient chant by Hildegard von Bingen to Paul John Rudoi’s “Song of Sky and Sea.” Song of the Universal features a newly commissioned multi-movement work by three emerging composers: Mari Esabel Valverde, Yosvany Estepe Diaz and Mariana Sadovska that reflect on universal themes of humanity’s relationship to the great mystery: Creation, Life, and Afterlife. In Song of the Universal, Cantus offers a program simultaneously transcendent and deeply human.

  • Cantus will present their programs Song of the Universal, Alone Together, Christmas with Cantus, and My Journey Yours on tour in seventeen cities throughout the United States this season, including stops in New York, Indiana, Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Massachusetts.

  • Cantus records for the UK-based Signum Classics label which has released the popular COVID-19 Sessions and Manifesto, an album of world premiere recordings of works by Ysaÿe Barnwell, David Lang, Sydney Guillaume, Libby Larsen, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and others. In the fall of 2022, Signum releases Into the Light, the first new holiday album from Cantus in over a decade.

  • 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 “engaging” (The 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 their home concerts available online. This pandemic-prompted innovation has brought the ensemble’s programs to audiences spanning 50 states and ten countries.

  • Their 2024-25 season includes performances of Wanting Memories – a show that explores the unique and enduring relationship between music and memory in all of our lives. Through selections that include timeless tunes like "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", and anchored by Ysaÿe M. Barnwell’s "Wanting Memories", this performance traverses the realms of nostalgia and family, loss and love, grief, laughter, fear and hope.  Other touring programs include Fields of Wonder, a program of new and deeply moving music that seeks to engage, inspire, and transform, and their holiday program Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for our Time. Upcoming performances include appearances at Millikin University, Port Townsend Chamber Music Series,and Brigham Young University.

    Cantus records for the UK-based Signum Classics label which has released the popular COVID-19 Sessions and Manifesto, an album of world premiere recordings of works by Ysaÿe Barnwell, David Lang, Sydney Guillaume, Libby Larsen, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and others. In the fall of 2022, Signum released Into the Light, the first new Holiday album from Cantus in over a decade. 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 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, 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 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 14-year history of its award-winning High School Mentorship program. Cantus also presents a Cantus Commission Competition, to encourage the creation of new repertoire through cash prizes, a performance, recording and potential publication of winning compositions.

    OUR MISSION & VISION

    Cantus engages audiences in a meaningful music experience and ensures the future of ensemble singing by mentoring young singers and educators. Cantus was founded on the ideals of collaborative music-making: artists and staff work together to reach new levels of artistic excellence, innovation and audience engagement. Our vision is to give voice to shared human experiences.

    August 2024 – Please do not edit without permission.


Videos

Programs & Repertoire

  • Fall 2024

    Program I – Wanting Memories*

    Bob Thiele, George David Weiss: What a Wonderful World

    Tim Minchin: From Matilda, When I Grow Up

    Taylor Swift: Fifteen

    Christopher H. Harris: I Would Live in Your Love

    A.R. Rahman (arr. Ethan Sperry): Wedding Qawwali

    Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe: From Gigi, I Remember It Well

    Stevie Nicks: Landslide

    Ysaÿe M. Barnwell: Wanting Memories

    *****

    Richard Strauss: Traumlicht

    Sydney Guillaume: Gagot

    Spes (Hope): Mia Makaroff

    Rosephanye Powell: When We Sing

    Dolly Parton: Light of a Clear Blue Morning

    Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg: Over the Rainbow

    Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal: I’ll Be Seeing You


    Why is it that we can recall the lyrics and melody of a song from our childhood, but we struggle to find our keys in the morning, or find ourselves unable to remember peoples’ names? Time and age can cause organized memories to gradually become a maze of fragments, but music often remains the one thing that helps us to remember who we are. As our memories fade, and life is transfigured for everyone around us, is music the final conduit for our memories, and the final connection to our past? In Wanting Memories, Cantus explores the unique and enduring relationship between music and memory in all of our lives. Through selections that include timeless tunes like "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", and anchored by Ysaÿe M. Barnwell’s "Wanting Memories", this performance traverses the realms of nostalgia and family, loss and love, grief, laughter, fear and hope.

    Program II – Mountain Nights*

    Zoltán Kodály: From Mountain Nights, I

    Veljo Tormis: From Vastlalaulud, I. Vistel-vastel

    Zoltán Kodály: From Mountain Nights, II

    Veljo Tormis: From Vastlalaulud, III. Liulaskmise-laud

    Zoltán Kodály: From Mountain Nights, III

    Veljo Tormis: From Vastlalaulud, II. Lina loitsimine

    J.M. Førde: Bruremarsj

    Chen Yi: Chinese Mountain Songs

    1. When Will the Scholar Tree Blossom?

    2. A Ma Lei A Ho

    3. Gathering in the Naked Oats

    4. Mt. Wuzhi

    5. Ga Da Mei Lin

    Traditional (arr. Mark Templeton): Arirang

    *****

    Zoltán Kodály: From Mountain Nights, IV

    Tōru Takemitsu: From Wind Horse, III. Vocalise II

    Zachary Wadsworth: From Future Folk Songs, Mountain Song

    Zoltán Kodály: From Mountain Nights, V

    Heitor Villa-Lobos: From Chôros, III (Pica-pau)

    Gabriela Lena Frank: Two Mountain Songs

    1. Envuelto por el Viento

    2. Picaflor Esmeralda

    Chris Foss: Fiddle Tune


    As sources of inspiration, challenge, and wonder, mountains have shaped human civilization as much as they’ve shaped our geography. In a program that showcases works by Zoltán Kodály, Chen Yi, and Gabriela Lena Frank, Cantus explores the far-ranging music of expansive skies and breathtaking summits.

    Program III – Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for Our Time*

    Traditional French (arr. Saunder Choi): Angels We Have Heard on High

    Traditional Spiritual (arr. Reginald Bowens): Go Tell It on the Mountain

    Nikolai Kedroff Sr. (arr. Vladamir Morosan): Otche Nash

    Noël Regney, Gloria Shayne: Do You Hear What I Hear?

    Alexander Nishibun: The Oxen

    Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman: Feed the Birds

    Hildegard von Bingen (arr. Chris Foss): Frondens Virga

    Franz Biebl: Ave Maria

    *****

    Traditional: Alilo

    Traditional (arr. Cantus): Es ist ein Ros entsprungen

    Sara Bareilles: Love Is Christmas

    B.E. Boykin: O Magnum Mysterium

    Linda Kachelmeier: We Toast the Days

    Christian Onyeji: Amuworo ayi otu nwa


    Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for Our Time offers a modern reinterpretation of a timeless tradition. Blending poetry with sacred and secular song, Cantus reimagines the beloved format of Nine Lessons and Carols made famous by the Choir of King’s College at the University of Cambridge.

    With characteristic warmth and virtuosity, the low-voice ensemble weaves together such Christmas favorites as “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen'' and Saunder Choi’s incomparable setting of “Angels We Have Heard on High,” alongside signature arrangements of Sara Bareilles’ gently lilting “Love Is Christmas” and a stunning newly commissioned “Go Tell It On the Mountain.” The result is a nuanced program that speaks to modern audiences and spans a range of cultures and contexts, from 12th-century chant by Hildegard von Bingen to Christian Onyeji’s thrilling “Amuworo ayi otu nwa”. In Lessons and Carols for Our Time, Cantus offers an intricately crafted program that both celebrates tradition and speaks to the moment.

    *Program orders and repertoires are subject to change.


  • PROGRAM I – LAND THAT I LOVE (FALL 2025)
    Samuel Ward (arr. Paul John Rudoi): America the Beautiful
    John Stafford Smith: The National Anthem
    William Steffe: The Battle Hymn of the Republic
    Saunder Choi: Leron, Leron, Sinta
    Moises Simons (arr. Yosvany Estepe Diaz): El Manisero
    María Grever (arr. Raul Dominguez): Tipitin
    Tania León: La Guitarra, mvt. 3 from Rimas Tropicales
    Reena Esmail: TaReKiTa
    Zhou Tian: Fortuitousness, mvt. 2 from Trade Winds
    Chen Yi: Fengyang ge
    Carlos Cordero: Lejanas Voces
    Gloria Estefan: Mi Tierra
    Caroline Shaw: Her Beacon Hand Beckons, mvt. 3 from To The Hands
    *****
    J. Rosamond Johnson: Lift Every Voice and Sing
    Gaby Moreno: Ave Que Emigra
    Melissa Dunphy: From N-400 Erasure Songs, II. N-400 (an erasure)
    Shabnam Abedi: NEW COMMISSION TBD
    Vincent Ford: Positive Vibration
    Stephen Paulus: The Road Home

    In commemoration of the United States’ Semiquincentennial, Cantus offers Land that I Love – a concert program exploring what it means to celebrate a national identity encompassing cultures from around the globe. Alongside our Indigenous peoples, we are a nation of immigrants. Land that I Love honors that diversity with captivating music by composers carrying their own immigrant stories. These composers are as wide-ranging and multi-faceted as the music they create, from Saunder Choi and Chen Yi to Gloria Estefan and Bob Marley. “A nation’s culture resides within the hearts and in the soul of its people” (M. Gandhi), and there can be no clearer means to express that collective heart and soul than through music.

    PROGRAM II – WANTING MEMORIES (FALL 2025)
    Bob Thiele, George David Weiss: What a Wonderful World
    Tim Minchin: From Matilda, When I Grow Up
    Taylor Swift: Fifteen
    Christopher H. Harris: I Would Live in Your Love
    A.R. Rahman (arr. Ethan Sperry): Wedding Qawwali
    Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe: From Gigi, I Remember It Well
    Stevie Nicks: Landslide
    Ysaÿe M. Barnwell: Wanting Memories
    *****
    Richard Strauss: Traumlicht
    Sydney Guillaume: Gagot
    Spes (Hope): Mia Makaroff
    Rosephanye Powell: When We Sing
    Dolly Parton: Light of a Clear Blue Morning
    Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg: Over the Rainbow
    Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal: I’ll Be Seeing You

    Why is it that we can recall the lyrics and melody of a song from our childhood, but we struggle to find our keys in the morning, or find ourselves unable to remember peoples’ names? Time and age can cause organized memories to gradually become a maze of fragments, but music often remains the one thing that helps us to remember who we are. As our memories fade, and life is transfigured for everyone around us, is music the final conduit for our memories, and the final connection to our past? In Wanting Memories, Cantus explores the unique and enduring relationship between music and memory in all of our lives. Through selections that include timeless tunes like "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", and anchored by Ysaÿe M. Barnwell’s "Wanting Memories", this performance traverses the realms of nostalgia and family, loss and love, grief, laughter, fear and hope.

    PROGRAM III – CHRISTMAS WITH CANTUS: THREE TALES OF CHRISTMAS
    Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson; arr. Jay Giallombardo: Christmas Time Is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas
    Paul John Rudoi: How You Are Made
    Mitchel Grassi, Scott Hoying, Audra Mae: Light in the Hallway
    Sam Phillips: Where Is Love Now
    Eden Ahbez: Nature Boy
    Traditional; arr. Alice Parker: O Tannenbaum
    Traditional; arr. Aaron Humble: Still, Still, Still
    Joni Mitchell: The Circle Game
    Billy Hill: The Glory of Love
    *****
    Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Overture and March from The Nutcracker
    Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker
    Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Russian Dance from The Nutcracker
    Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Arabian & Chinese Dances from The Nutcracker
    Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Dance of the Reed-Flutes from The Nutcracker
    Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker
    Jay Livingston, Ray Evans: Silver Bells
    Traditional Taiwanese; arr. Chien Shan-Hua: diu diu dang a
    Alan Silvestri: Spirit of the Season
    Loreena McKennit: The Bells of Christmas
    J.M. Førde: Bruremarsj
    Alan Silvestri: Believe

    In Christmas with Cantus, Cantus weaves together three holiday stories with time-honored carols and new classics. Blending narration and song, the program features Margery Williams’ “The Velveteen Rabbit” and “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg, alongside an abridged romp through “The Nutcracker” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, offering an opportunity to reflect on the meaning and joy of the holiday season. Join Cantus for its beloved holiday programming that the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune deemed "as joyful a celebration of the season's spirit as any caroling party you're likely to attend this year."

  • PROGRAM I – SONGS OF THANKS (FALL 2026)*
    Reena Esmail: TaReKiTa
    Ko Matsushita: Sakura
    Moises Simons (arr. Yosvany Estepe Diaz): El Manisero
    Mia Makaroff: Spes
    Isaac Lovdahl: When I Was Just a Boy
    Paul Scholtz (arr. Paul John Rudoi): Fatherhood Is
    Ruth Moody: One Voice
    Andrea Ramsey: That Which Remains
    Stephen Caracciolo: Simple Gifts
    *****
    Margaret Bonds: Moonlight Night (Carmel)
    Bobby McFerrin: The Garden
    Jennifer Higdon: A Quiet Moment
    J. Rosamond Johnson (arr. Rod Kelly Hines): Lift Every Voice and Sing
    Sydney Guillaume: Twa Tanbou
    Marques L.A. Garrett: My Heart Be Brave
    Lorenzo Lyons: Hawaii Aloha
    William Linthicum-Blackhorse: Thunkasila Imayaluskin
    Jean Sibelius: Finlandia
    Robert Lowry (arr. Stephen Caracciolo): How Can I Keep From Singing

    What are you grateful for? It’s a deeply personal question, yet there are undoubtedly overarching themes, like the joy of breathing in fresh air on a hike, savoring a recipe passed down through generations, and cherishing moments spent with those we love.

    In Simple Gifts, Cantus weaves together personal stories of gratitude along with beloved tunes including "How Can I Keep From Singing" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing", timeless classics from Jean Sibelius and Jennifer Higdon, and contemporary gems by Bobby McFerrin and William Linthicum-Blackhorse.

    The result is a poignant and heartfelt program filled with energy and beauty that uplifts, inspires, and reminds us of what we hold most dear.

    PROGRAM II - LAND THAT I LOVE (FALL 2026)
    Samuel Ward (arr. Paul John Rudoi): America the Beautiful
    John Stafford Smith: The National Anthem
    William Steffe: The Battle Hymn of the Republic
    Saunder Choi: Leron, Leron, Sinta
    Moises Simons (arr. Yosvany Estepe Diaz): El Manisero
    María Grever (arr. Raul Dominguez): Tipitin
    Tania León: La Guitarra, mvt. 3 from Rimas Tropicales
    Reena Esmail: TaReKiTa
    Zhou Tian: Fortuitousness, mvt. 2 from Trade Winds
    Chen Yi: Fengyang ge
    Carlos Cordero: Lejanas Voces
    Gloria Estefan: Mi Tierra
    Caroline Shaw: Her Beacon Hand Beckons, mvt. 3 from To The Hands
    *****
    J. Rosamond Johnson: Lift Every Voice and Sing
    Gaby Moreno: Ave Que Emigra
    Melissa Dunphy: From N-400 Erasure Songs, II. N-400 (an erasure)
    Shabnam Abedi: NEW COMMISSION TBD
    Vincent Ford: Positive Vibration
    Stephen Paulus: The Road Home

    Following the United States’ Semiquincentennial, Cantus offers Land that I Love – a concert program exploring what it means to celebrate a national identity encompassing cultures from around the globe. Alongside our Indigenous peoples, we are a nation of immigrants. Land that I Love honors that diversity with captivating music by composers carrying their own immigrant stories. These composers are as wide-ranging and multi-faceted as the music they create, from Saunder Choi and Chen Yi to Gloria Estefan and Bob Marley. “A nation’s culture resides within the hearts and in the soul of its people” (M. Gandhi), and there can be no clearer means to express that collective heart and soul than through music.

    Program III – CHRISTMAS WITH CANTUS: LESSONS AND CAROLS FOR OUR TIME
    Traditional English (arr. Reginald Bowens): I Saw Three Ships
    Paul John Rudoi: Last Kind Words
    Brandon Spencer: Little Lamb
    Marian L. Harrison: Tiny Child
    Eric Whitacre: Lux Aurumque
    Taku Izumi: Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi o
    Ariel Ramirez: Los Pastores
    Sarah Quartel: Sing, My Child
    Traditional Slovenian (arr. Janez Močnik): Ta Stara Bozicna Pejsen
    Franz Xaver Gruber (arr. Christopher Harris): Silent Night
    *****
    Traditional English: O Come All Ye Faithful
    Kim Andre Arnesen: Even When He Is Silent
    Cheryl Camm: Alleluia! Into the Light
    Pärt Uusberg: Mis on inimene?
    Francisco Grau Vegara (arr. Alberto de la Paz): Mensaje de Paz
    Zanaida Robles: Kujichagulia
    Sergei Rachmaninoff (arr. Thomas Beveridge): Bogoroditse Devo
    Traditional Scottish: Auld Lang Syne
    Franz Biebl: Ave Maria

    Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for Our Time invites audiences to a rich, contemplative holiday experience that merges tradition with timely resonance. Cantus reimagines the beloved format of Lessons and Carols, exploring themes of hope, peace, and unity through classic carols, music from around the world, and a captivating blend of poetry curated by award-winning author Michael Kleber-Diggs.

    Celebrate the season with the timeless beauty of carols such as “Silent Night” and “I Saw Three Ships,” alongside recent works from the bold, fresh voices of composers like Zanaida Robles and Marian L. Harrison. The program unfolds with a dynamic range of emotions and textures, featuring pieces by Rachmaninoff, Ariel Ramirez, and Eric Whitacre, that spark reflections on faith and humanity. At once classic and modern, Lessons and Carols for Our Time is a heartfelt program that that evokes the spirit of celebration and reflection.