Artistic Council & Education Outreach Reports
Production – Zac Colby
Cantus had a successful showing at the American Choral Director's Associate National Conference held in Minneapolis. We were invited to sing under choral celebrity, Eric Whitacre's baton a piece that he wrote for the King's Singers and his pro-choir. We also had two successful performances on the last evening of the conference where we made many meaningful connections with conductors, composers, and presenters. We are working hard on America Will Be! and incorporating another new sub singer, Bill Pederson. Bill is a local tenor who sings with vocal Essence and works at the University of Minnesota's music library. He is meshing in well and we are excited to present this meaningful program. We are also happy to report that our other sub, Nick Karageorgiou is able to join us for our East coast tour in April and that all of our bases (baseball not singing) are covered.
Programming – Chris Foss
Our relationship with St. Thomas school of Engineering continues, with tour dates for 17-18 delivered. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find new audiences and sources of revenue connected to science museums and STEM college programs around the country.
Funding for a WWI Documentary produced by Alan Sands was approved, and Cantus has been hired to produce a 1 minute musical segment for a Teaser Trailer. The segment has been recorded, and it will be delivered upon previously agreed payment of 5k.
We officially agreed to move 'For the Beauty of the Earth' up a year to fill the spring slot in the 17-18 concert season previously occupied by the Romeo and Juliet project. The group will soon brainstorm and select a theme and sample repertoire to replace the concert in the Spring of 2019.
Music Accord has agreed to our renewed interest in working with Libby Larsen. We aim to present a commission that will fit into the 18-19 touring show ‘Stranger’. The group has met with Libby to sketch out more concrete details, but they were not available at the time of this report.
The repertoire for our summer chamber music show ‘Songs of Travel’ has been selected and finalized. This will allow for individual and reduced forces performances showcasing the unique talents of ensemble members. The show will run in mid July at the Swedish Institute and Russian Museum of Art.
Education Outreach – Sam Green
High School Residency
One final school visit remains on April 25, and following that, our culminating concert on Friday April 28 at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina. The concert begins at 7:30pm, and we expect a large crowd of parents and other community members! To help a little with cash flow, we are hoping to sell t-shirts that were unclaimed from our festival day.
In talks with the engagement committee, we want to include HSR students at Cantus Idol following the final concert. The current plan is to reprise our combined piece, “Shenandoah”, with a small select group of students during the evening. We hope to make this a staple of the Cantus HSR experience, and will plan it moving forward for next year’s schools.
Twin Cities Outreach
Thanks to a tip from Kylie Foss, we have scheduled our first ever outreach event with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities. EXPLORE Careers is an opportunity for BBBS “Littles and Bigs” (Matches) to learn about careers. The interactive event will take place on Thursday, May 18 at Westminster Presbyterian, and will be similar to an open rehearsal format. In addition to observing the artist led rehearsal, BBBS is providing a meal, and Carly Thornberry will also give insight into arts advocacy and administration, so that the Matches can get a behind the scenes look at multiple career opportunities in the arts. We are very excited for this new Outreach opportunity!
Spread the word that Cantus offers a variety of educational outreach opportunities locally and around the country each year. If you know educators/organizations interested in working with us, refer them to education@cantussings.org, or contact Sam at sgreen@cantussings.org.
Cantus had a successful showing at the American Choral Director's Associate National Conference held in Minneapolis. We were invited to sing under choral celebrity, Eric Whitacre's baton a piece that he wrote for the King's Singers and his pro-choir. We also had two successful performances on the last evening of the conference where we made many meaningful connections with conductors, composers, and presenters. We are working hard on America Will Be! and incorporating another new sub singer, Bill Pederson. Bill is a local tenor who sings with vocal Essence and works at the University of Minnesota's music library. He is meshing in well and we are excited to present this meaningful program. We are also happy to report that our other sub, Nick Karageorgiou is able to join us for our East coast tour in April and that all of our bases (baseball not singing) are covered.
Programming – Chris Foss
Our relationship with St. Thomas school of Engineering continues, with tour dates for 17-18 delivered. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find new audiences and sources of revenue connected to science museums and STEM college programs around the country.
Funding for a WWI Documentary produced by Alan Sands was approved, and Cantus has been hired to produce a 1 minute musical segment for a Teaser Trailer. The segment has been recorded, and it will be delivered upon previously agreed payment of 5k.
We officially agreed to move 'For the Beauty of the Earth' up a year to fill the spring slot in the 17-18 concert season previously occupied by the Romeo and Juliet project. The group will soon brainstorm and select a theme and sample repertoire to replace the concert in the Spring of 2019.
Music Accord has agreed to our renewed interest in working with Libby Larsen. We aim to present a commission that will fit into the 18-19 touring show ‘Stranger’. The group has met with Libby to sketch out more concrete details, but they were not available at the time of this report.
The repertoire for our summer chamber music show ‘Songs of Travel’ has been selected and finalized. This will allow for individual and reduced forces performances showcasing the unique talents of ensemble members. The show will run in mid July at the Swedish Institute and Russian Museum of Art.
Education Outreach – Sam Green
High School Residency
One final school visit remains on April 25, and following that, our culminating concert on Friday April 28 at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina. The concert begins at 7:30pm, and we expect a large crowd of parents and other community members! To help a little with cash flow, we are hoping to sell t-shirts that were unclaimed from our festival day.
In talks with the engagement committee, we want to include HSR students at Cantus Idol following the final concert. The current plan is to reprise our combined piece, “Shenandoah”, with a small select group of students during the evening. We hope to make this a staple of the Cantus HSR experience, and will plan it moving forward for next year’s schools.
Twin Cities Outreach
Thanks to a tip from Kylie Foss, we have scheduled our first ever outreach event with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities. EXPLORE Careers is an opportunity for BBBS “Littles and Bigs” (Matches) to learn about careers. The interactive event will take place on Thursday, May 18 at Westminster Presbyterian, and will be similar to an open rehearsal format. In addition to observing the artist led rehearsal, BBBS is providing a meal, and Carly Thornberry will also give insight into arts advocacy and administration, so that the Matches can get a behind the scenes look at multiple career opportunities in the arts. We are very excited for this new Outreach opportunity!
Spread the word that Cantus offers a variety of educational outreach opportunities locally and around the country each year. If you know educators/organizations interested in working with us, refer them to education@cantussings.org, or contact Sam at sgreen@cantussings.org.