Artistic Council & Education Outreach Reports
Communications - Paul Scholtz
Cantus Activities Week by Week
Press, Media, and other Comments
Nothing to report.
Production – Zac Colby
WHAT A MONTH!?
Nick Karageorgiou joined us on tour for a month and was memorized within three concerts. Everyone worked together to ensure a smooth incorporation of Mr. K and there were no complaints from presenters. Hooray! We are busy working on preparing for our surprise appearance with Eric Whitacre at the National ACDA Convention, as well as our own show and many events. We are also hard at work editing video and rehearsing for America Will Be! and are very excited about how this powerful program is shaping up. Be on the lookout for a video trailer soon!
Programming – Chris Foss
Together the singers and staff agreed, after careful consideration, to discontinue plans for Romeo and Juliet for the 18-19 Season and beyond. The news has been/is being disseminated to our collaborators, and administrative loose ends are being tied up. We still have the finished script and a number of composed pieces, should the company ever consider the project again in the future.
America Will Be repertoire is being rehearsed, and the media team has conducted interviews with community members. The team is currently going through the filmed material, and will edit together the footage to be used in the next couple of weeks. We will ascertain the final concert order in conjunction with the finished filmed materials.
With several international tours coming up, presenters have yet to forward on culturally-specific repertoire choices for inclusion in their respective shows (as per agreement), so we will now start the process of finding those pieces on our own.
Covers producers/arrangers and repertoire and repertoire has been decided on/assigned. Arrangements are due in early April, and the group will start learning the material in mid-April/early May.
Songs of Travel repertoire is still being assembled, but the song-cycle from Vaughan Williams has been assigned to specific singers to start preparations and learning. We hope to have final repertoire decided in mid to late March.
Our collaboration with the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering continues, mostly with meetings involving myself, Joe Heitz, and Jacob Christopher.
With the absence of full programming meetings since the previous board meetings, the ensemble has not yet had a chance to replace the vacant spring 2018 concert slot… however, it’s very possible the ensemble would choose to move Spring 2019’s For the Beauty of the Earth forward a year to satisfy the project, but either way, we will brainstorm for a new concert idea in the next two years.
Education Outreach -- Sam Green
High School ResidencyOn Saturday, February 25, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul housed the singers of Cantus, Cantus staff, 8 volunteers, 4 choir directors, and 160+ students from our participating HSR schools for our annual High School Residency Festival Day! A special thanks to board members Jim Dorsey, Jonathan Guyton, Craig Shulstad, and Pete Cochrane for volunteering on a Saturday morning.
The Festival included 2 hours of mass choir rehearsal with directors Nancy Lee, Brandon Berger, and Theresa Westcott, and 4 unique 20-minute breakout sessions led by the artists of Cantus. Breakout session topics and activities ranged from singing with emotional intent, giving and receiving constructive feedback, self-directing, and arts advocacy; four areas of engagement that we as artists in Cantus feel are unique to our company and process, and vital to developing singers.
One final school visit remains, and following that, our culminating concert on Friday April 28 at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina.
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.
National OutreachFort Collins was the first stop on our February tour. Zac, Chris, and I had the pleasure of working with Fort Collins High School choir during a masterclass. Chris beautifully demonstrated dynamic ebb and flow, which the students were able to immediately implement in their singing. Our second outreach engagement in Colorado was a lecture demonstration for an audience of 100+ middle schoolers. Their music teacher, Tony Gezzi, sent along this note afterwards:
“Thank you for Cantus coming out to Cache La Poudre Middle School today. The kids were talking about their experience the rest of the day. Please pass along my thanks to the guys! So great how well everyone worked with the students and showcased each individuals talents during the presentation. Great musicians and Great Educators. Could not have asked for a better presentation. Appreciate it!”
Our final outreach activity in Fort Collins included a combined performance with the Colorado State University chamber choir under the direction of James Kim. The collegiate singers made great strides in performing without a conductor and taking artistic risks.
In Prescott, Arizona, we had a unique opportunity to work with 5 separate choirs from 2 different schools: Bradshaw Mountain High School, and Prescott High School. With a 3 hour chunk of time to devote to the choirs, we split up into teams to conduct 5 individualized masterclasses, and a truncated lecture demonstration. The choirs observed each other’s masterclasses, and were very attentive and respectful. The following evening, we shared the stage with them and performed together Jonathan Quick’s arrangement of “Loch Lomond.” Director Arlene Hardy shared:
“What an amazing experience for our kiddos!!! They absolutely loved every minute !!! Thank you Cantus for your incredible ability to excite and inspire our singers through your master classes and your compelling performance. On top of that, you are all wonderful people! Thank you and hope to do it again someday!!!”
In Aurora, Illinois, we gave a noontime lecture demonstration for collegiate music students and 8th grade STEM students. While the juxtaposition of audience members was a bit challenging, each group had thoughtful questions during Q&A.
Our final 2 outreach activities were in Iowa with a couple combined rehearsals and performances of the Biebl Ave Maria with various collegiate and high school groups. The student and audience reception was very warm. The Biebl is a great piece to collaborate on.
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 Activities Week by Week
- January 22 - Rehearsal (integrated substitute singer for February tour); HSR visits; Filming for AWB video (ZC/CF/AF)
- January 29 - Performance at Normandale Lutheran in Edina w/ new commission by Cary John Franklin; No Greater Love Than This Tour (Fort Collins, CO)
- February 5 - NGLTT Tour (Sedona, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; Prescott, AZ; Flagstaff, AZ)
- February 12 - NGLTT Tour (La Jolla, CA; Aurora, IL; Dubuque, IA; Orange City, IA)
- February 19 - Audition Day; HSR Festival Day
- Communication highlights
- Sweet Honey contract is anticipated in the next week or so.
- Met with Brian at MPR to discuss possibility of spring live-stream of AWB (JH/CT/PS).
- Goal-setting meetings for new admin assignments. Nearly complete.
- Preparing for National ACDA. Current tentative highlights:
- March 8: Surprise appearance with a well-known conductor and ensemble (?!)
- March 10: Sing tags with Cantus and the Ringmasters (award-winning Swedish barbershop quartet)
- March 11: Official ACDA performance
- Local publicist, Anne Ulseth, booked us on Almanac on March 24th to promote AWB.
Press, Media, and other Comments
Nothing to report.
Production – Zac Colby
WHAT A MONTH!?
Nick Karageorgiou joined us on tour for a month and was memorized within three concerts. Everyone worked together to ensure a smooth incorporation of Mr. K and there were no complaints from presenters. Hooray! We are busy working on preparing for our surprise appearance with Eric Whitacre at the National ACDA Convention, as well as our own show and many events. We are also hard at work editing video and rehearsing for America Will Be! and are very excited about how this powerful program is shaping up. Be on the lookout for a video trailer soon!
Programming – Chris Foss
Together the singers and staff agreed, after careful consideration, to discontinue plans for Romeo and Juliet for the 18-19 Season and beyond. The news has been/is being disseminated to our collaborators, and administrative loose ends are being tied up. We still have the finished script and a number of composed pieces, should the company ever consider the project again in the future.
America Will Be repertoire is being rehearsed, and the media team has conducted interviews with community members. The team is currently going through the filmed material, and will edit together the footage to be used in the next couple of weeks. We will ascertain the final concert order in conjunction with the finished filmed materials.
With several international tours coming up, presenters have yet to forward on culturally-specific repertoire choices for inclusion in their respective shows (as per agreement), so we will now start the process of finding those pieces on our own.
Covers producers/arrangers and repertoire and repertoire has been decided on/assigned. Arrangements are due in early April, and the group will start learning the material in mid-April/early May.
Songs of Travel repertoire is still being assembled, but the song-cycle from Vaughan Williams has been assigned to specific singers to start preparations and learning. We hope to have final repertoire decided in mid to late March.
Our collaboration with the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering continues, mostly with meetings involving myself, Joe Heitz, and Jacob Christopher.
With the absence of full programming meetings since the previous board meetings, the ensemble has not yet had a chance to replace the vacant spring 2018 concert slot… however, it’s very possible the ensemble would choose to move Spring 2019’s For the Beauty of the Earth forward a year to satisfy the project, but either way, we will brainstorm for a new concert idea in the next two years.
Education Outreach -- Sam Green
High School ResidencyOn Saturday, February 25, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul housed the singers of Cantus, Cantus staff, 8 volunteers, 4 choir directors, and 160+ students from our participating HSR schools for our annual High School Residency Festival Day! A special thanks to board members Jim Dorsey, Jonathan Guyton, Craig Shulstad, and Pete Cochrane for volunteering on a Saturday morning.
The Festival included 2 hours of mass choir rehearsal with directors Nancy Lee, Brandon Berger, and Theresa Westcott, and 4 unique 20-minute breakout sessions led by the artists of Cantus. Breakout session topics and activities ranged from singing with emotional intent, giving and receiving constructive feedback, self-directing, and arts advocacy; four areas of engagement that we as artists in Cantus feel are unique to our company and process, and vital to developing singers.
One final school visit remains, and following that, our culminating concert on Friday April 28 at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina.
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.
National OutreachFort Collins was the first stop on our February tour. Zac, Chris, and I had the pleasure of working with Fort Collins High School choir during a masterclass. Chris beautifully demonstrated dynamic ebb and flow, which the students were able to immediately implement in their singing. Our second outreach engagement in Colorado was a lecture demonstration for an audience of 100+ middle schoolers. Their music teacher, Tony Gezzi, sent along this note afterwards:
“Thank you for Cantus coming out to Cache La Poudre Middle School today. The kids were talking about their experience the rest of the day. Please pass along my thanks to the guys! So great how well everyone worked with the students and showcased each individuals talents during the presentation. Great musicians and Great Educators. Could not have asked for a better presentation. Appreciate it!”
Our final outreach activity in Fort Collins included a combined performance with the Colorado State University chamber choir under the direction of James Kim. The collegiate singers made great strides in performing without a conductor and taking artistic risks.
In Prescott, Arizona, we had a unique opportunity to work with 5 separate choirs from 2 different schools: Bradshaw Mountain High School, and Prescott High School. With a 3 hour chunk of time to devote to the choirs, we split up into teams to conduct 5 individualized masterclasses, and a truncated lecture demonstration. The choirs observed each other’s masterclasses, and were very attentive and respectful. The following evening, we shared the stage with them and performed together Jonathan Quick’s arrangement of “Loch Lomond.” Director Arlene Hardy shared:
“What an amazing experience for our kiddos!!! They absolutely loved every minute !!! Thank you Cantus for your incredible ability to excite and inspire our singers through your master classes and your compelling performance. On top of that, you are all wonderful people! Thank you and hope to do it again someday!!!”
In Aurora, Illinois, we gave a noontime lecture demonstration for collegiate music students and 8th grade STEM students. While the juxtaposition of audience members was a bit challenging, each group had thoughtful questions during Q&A.
Our final 2 outreach activities were in Iowa with a couple combined rehearsals and performances of the Biebl Ave Maria with various collegiate and high school groups. The student and audience reception was very warm. The Biebl is a great piece to collaborate on.
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.
