Artistic Council & Education Outreach Reports

 
Communications – Paul Scholtz
 
Cantus Activities Week by Week
  • April 23 - NGLTT Tour (New Britain, CT); HSR visit #3; rehearsal; HSR final concert; concert with Great Northern Union Barbershop Chorus
  • April 30 - NGLTT performance at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Lyndale; Covers rehearsal (open rehearsal with Brock Metzger)
  • May 7 - Cantus Idol; Covers rehearsal
  • May 14 - Covers rehearsal (open rehearsal for Big Brothers, Big Sisters); Covers preview at Summit Beer Hall!
 
Communication highlights
  • Sweet Honey has signed their contract!
  • AC has begun to work with Joe to think of ways to maximize artist capacity and skills as we reevaluate artist administrative duties and look to minimize expenses for the FY18 budget.
    • This process will move more earnestly in the coming weeks and as Joe works to finalize the budget.
  • Covers promotional event at Summit Beer Hall on Friday, May 19.
 
 
Production – Zac Colby
 
We are really working hard on Covers and making Sgt. Pepper’s a success! I’ve been working with the staff from the Cowles Center and filling in on Jeff’s role and doing all the communication with the Cowles Center. We also are getting ahead on work for our July Songs of Travel concert at TMORA and the Swedish Institute as well as starting repertoire for our Fall Show, The Discovery of Sight. This is going to be a QUICK turnaround to be ready for our Asian tour at the end of August next year, so we are being SUPER proactive. We continue to operate on an all-hands-on-deck mentality and have been really good about covering the many bases after Cantus Idol, etc.
 

 
Programming – Chris Foss
 
The group has officially chosen a theme and narrative to take the place of our concert in the Spring of 2019.   When I Grow Up (tentative title) will be a show that focuses on childhood, coming of age, and discovering personal identity.  We will provide AAM a blurb, final title, and example list of repertoire in the next few months for spring touring.
 
We have officially selected Rumours by Fleetwood Mac to be the album we will cover on next years concerts in June.  Other finalists included Thriller by Michael Jackson and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.
 
Together with administration, we are starting to plan for a concert series next summer (along the same schedule as this summer’s Songs of Travel).  Next month we will select thematic material and title, and will use information gathered from the evaluation of Songs of Travel to complete planning for next year.
 
With an officially signed contract from Sweet Honey in the Rock, I’ve started having conversations about programming and rep with their representative.  The goal is to have something to sing together (for promotional purposes) in July when both groups will be at the same conference in Iowa.  We’ll definitely record audio and video from that experience.
 
We’ve also begun brainstorming for potential major collaborators for a large concert next year.  We have several exciting options so far, but exciting possibilities include Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the King’s Singers.
 
We have gathered and gone through repertoire for For the Beauty of the Earth for the first round.  A committee has been assembled to create a draft, which can then be presented to the company at large for tweaks and changes.  Our goal is to have repertoire finalized by the end of the fiscal year in July.
 
We are still in the process of selected site-specific repertoire for our tours of South Korea, China, and Taiwan.  We’ve gathered some options, and will make final decisions in the coming weeks.
 

Education Outreach – Sam Green
 
High School Residency
Our final HSR Concert was a huge success! I can’t recall a Cantus performance with as many standing ovations as there were at this concert. The audience was electric, and the students’ performance was inspiring. It was a terrific coda for our year together.
 
However, that was not the last our audiences would hear of our participating schools! We were lucky to be accompanied by about 20 of our HSR students at Cantus Idol! Together, we did a reprise performance of “Shenandoah” prior to our *record breaking* Fund-A-Need. Coincidence? Who knows? Idol is on the calendar for next year’s participating schools as a result.
 
Chris Foss and I just finalized our upcoming season calendar with directors Laurie Meyers, Ryan Uttech, and Nikki Zeleny for HSR 17-18. It promises to be a fantastic season of collaboration and education.
 
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! A full report will be available at the June board meeting.
 
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.