Artistic Council & Education Outreach Reports
Communications - Paul Scholtz
Cantus Activities Week by Week
Communication highlights
Press, Media, and other Comments
Production – Zac Colby
Things are going really well as far as being recognized for our work on No Greater Love Than This, including an incredible review by the Strib. Audiences are responding well to this program and we are looking forward to getting it on the road these next months.
Programming – Chris Foss
The Chanticleer collaborative concert was a hit, and Fred was very easy to work with on the programming front. Lots of logistics and last minute questions were answered, but overall, the evening went very smoothly with no major mistakes or errors. With a lot at stake, it seems like we could call the planning and execution a success.
No Greater Love Than This has gone up to rave reviews from media and audience alike. Of particular note are the strong positive reactions from veterans, which is quite meaningful towards the fulfillment of our mission/vision statements. The show will continue to be tweaked throughout it’s tenure as the touring show, but the initial run seems to satisfy audiences.
Our collaboration with the University of St. Thomas Engineering department continues, and we have laid out the schedule and deadlines for the remainder of this season (and school year) to keep us on track for a fully fleshed-out 1 hour multi-media experience to premiere in the fall of 2017. Next steps include creating a ‘mood' board and preliminary recordings of rep to provide rough ideas for the students to run with over the next few months.
The Romeo and Juliet workshop period led us to new creative developments on the movement and composing fronts. The script has been finalized, and Carl Flink and Libby Larsen have the experience/materials they need to finalize the movement/musical vocabulary over the next several months. The small committee also met and started planning for fine scheduling and technical specifications for the Guthrie run. We are currently waiting on final confirmation of 1 of 2 possible dates for runs from the Guthrie. We hope to receive this information in the next few weeks.
The artists took some brief time during a recent programming meeting to do some macro-level envisioning work, trying to answer where we want to be as a company artistically over the next 5-10 years. Big ideas were king (and very easy to come by in the afterglow of the Chanticleer show/media effect). Ultimately it is clear we are moving more towards our identified vision statement, while using artistic excellence as a means to an end. The talk was much more focused on paving our own path rather than achieving dominance in an already established field.
The artists recently met with several members of the choral community in order to further our understanding of racial issues in light of the subject matter of our spring show “America Will Be”. Very powerful and enlightening, the conversation helped us to focus on further refining the ultimate goal of the show. We also got lots of ideas and leads for potential further education/collaborative efforts that the project could involve.
We officially decided on an encore for this year’s Xmas shows. Along the same vein as “Meetin’ Here Tonight”, we’ve decided to do another Joe and Eddie cover: “Children Go”.
Our MPR live broadcast from the State Fair was a trial by fire first performance of the year (with a live broadcast, including blaring music from a neighboring stage and too little soundcheck time). However, it was good exposure and good relationship building with MPR.
The ensemble also recorded a Veterans day special with APM, taken entirely from our No Greater Love touring show. The recording went off without a hitch at Plymouth Congregational Church, and hopefully will be great exposure in a new and different vein from the tradition of “Thanksgiving with Cantus” specials.
We also sang a short 3 pieces for the board of Chorus America (meeting for a weekend at MPR). Great networking and relationship building, and good questions from leaders in our field meant a raise in our artistic profile and (hopefully) goodwill for the recent commission and future awards (with both artistic AND monetary value attached as well).
Education Outreach Coordinator – Sam Green
High School Residency
September kicked off the beginning of HSR 16-17 with hour-long concerts at our 3 participating schools, Washburn High School (Minneapolis), Johnson Senior High (St. Paul), and St. Michael - Albertville (St. Michael). Our next visits to the schools will be in small groups to work with their choirs in a masterclass format, and set goals for the year. Check out the article in the program for “No Greater Love Than This”!
We are currently accepting applications for the 17-18 school year. If you know of an educator or choir program who could benefit from Cantus HSR, please send them my way, or share with them our HSR link: http://www.cantussings.org/for-educators/cantus-high-school-residency/
I have been sending personal emails to past participants and schools that have applied and not been selected. We would love to see more applicants!
Applications are due Monday November 14.
National Outreach
We had our first masterclass of the season at the Wartburg College Real Men Sing Festival on Saturday October 8. There were 700 students grades 7-12 in attendance for our masterclass with Festeburg; Wartburg’s extra curricular men’s a cappella ensemble that is modeled after Cantus. We really do enjoy working with collegiate singers who are on the cusp of great music making. The men of Festeburg had great questions for us regarding our collaborative model.
Community Outreach
Carly and I met with 2 representatives from Big Brothers Big Sisters to begin planning an event for the Spring. EXPLORE Careers Series provides “Littles” and “Bigs” (children and their mentors) an opportunity to discover vocation opportunities, and receive behind the scenes looks at how people perform their day to day jobs. This event would likely look very similar to an open rehearsal and/or lecture demonstration, with opportunities to connect with the participants and describe what it’s like to work not only as a professional singer, but also in the arts administration and non-profit fields! We hope to include some incentive such as comp tickets to a Covers concert in June, depending on availability and interest. Special shout out to Kylie Foss for introducing us to this wonderful program!
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
- August 21 - ’No Greater Love Than This’ rehearsal, (open rehearsal w/ Carly)
- August 28 - NGLTT rehearsal; Board Social performance; State Fair performance
- September 4 - NGLTT/Chanticleer rehearsal (open rehearsal w/ Katie Berg)
- September 11 - Romeo & Juliet workshop with Libby, Trish, and the whole team
- September 18 - Season Preview; Westminster Sunday services; rehearsal w/ Fred Scott (Chanticleer); Xmas music learning
- September 25 - High School Residency performances; Chanticleer/Xmas rehearsal (open rehearsal w/ Chuck Peterson)
- October 2 - Cantus/Chanticleer Concert!; Tour performance: Florence, OR, Waverly, IA - Real Men Sing
- October 9 - NGLTT performances: Macphail & Ordway; Xmas rehearsal (open rehearsal w/ Katie Imholte)
- October 16 - NGLTT performances: Colonial Church, Edina and Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater; Xmas rehearsal
- October 23 - NGLTT performance: St. Bart’s Catholic Church, Wayzata
Communication highlights
- Sweet Honey in the Rock continued interest; attempting to secure a firm date with Orchestra Hall
- Artists met with Rob Robbins of Alliance Artists Management before our Ordway show. A positive conversation about the booking landscape, our national profile, our place in the industry, goals, and how we can take things to the next level.
- Recorded Veteran’s Day broadcast with APM.
- Performed for Chorus America board and had Q&A session at MPR. Promoted executive director search; Brian Newhouse invitation.
- Performed on TPT’s Almanac to promote NGLTT.
- Scheduled NYC live audition date in addition to Minneapolis (David Geist, social media & recruitment, spearheaded these efforts).
Press, Media, and other Comments
- StarTrib review of No Greater Love Than This: http://www.startribune.com/cantus-opens-season-with-beautiful-music-on-horrors-of-war/397333921/
- Pioneer Press review of Chanticleer/Cantus Concert: http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/03/cantus-chanticleer-review/
- MinnPost review of Chanticleer/Cantus Concert: https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2016/10/black-film-festival-coming-includes-fashion-show-tribute-prince
- Ensemble appearance on TPT’s Almanac to promote NGLTT: http://video.tpt.org/video/2365860410/
Production – Zac Colby
Things are going really well as far as being recognized for our work on No Greater Love Than This, including an incredible review by the Strib. Audiences are responding well to this program and we are looking forward to getting it on the road these next months.
Programming – Chris Foss
The Chanticleer collaborative concert was a hit, and Fred was very easy to work with on the programming front. Lots of logistics and last minute questions were answered, but overall, the evening went very smoothly with no major mistakes or errors. With a lot at stake, it seems like we could call the planning and execution a success.
No Greater Love Than This has gone up to rave reviews from media and audience alike. Of particular note are the strong positive reactions from veterans, which is quite meaningful towards the fulfillment of our mission/vision statements. The show will continue to be tweaked throughout it’s tenure as the touring show, but the initial run seems to satisfy audiences.
Our collaboration with the University of St. Thomas Engineering department continues, and we have laid out the schedule and deadlines for the remainder of this season (and school year) to keep us on track for a fully fleshed-out 1 hour multi-media experience to premiere in the fall of 2017. Next steps include creating a ‘mood' board and preliminary recordings of rep to provide rough ideas for the students to run with over the next few months.
The Romeo and Juliet workshop period led us to new creative developments on the movement and composing fronts. The script has been finalized, and Carl Flink and Libby Larsen have the experience/materials they need to finalize the movement/musical vocabulary over the next several months. The small committee also met and started planning for fine scheduling and technical specifications for the Guthrie run. We are currently waiting on final confirmation of 1 of 2 possible dates for runs from the Guthrie. We hope to receive this information in the next few weeks.
The artists took some brief time during a recent programming meeting to do some macro-level envisioning work, trying to answer where we want to be as a company artistically over the next 5-10 years. Big ideas were king (and very easy to come by in the afterglow of the Chanticleer show/media effect). Ultimately it is clear we are moving more towards our identified vision statement, while using artistic excellence as a means to an end. The talk was much more focused on paving our own path rather than achieving dominance in an already established field.
The artists recently met with several members of the choral community in order to further our understanding of racial issues in light of the subject matter of our spring show “America Will Be”. Very powerful and enlightening, the conversation helped us to focus on further refining the ultimate goal of the show. We also got lots of ideas and leads for potential further education/collaborative efforts that the project could involve.
We officially decided on an encore for this year’s Xmas shows. Along the same vein as “Meetin’ Here Tonight”, we’ve decided to do another Joe and Eddie cover: “Children Go”.
Our MPR live broadcast from the State Fair was a trial by fire first performance of the year (with a live broadcast, including blaring music from a neighboring stage and too little soundcheck time). However, it was good exposure and good relationship building with MPR.
The ensemble also recorded a Veterans day special with APM, taken entirely from our No Greater Love touring show. The recording went off without a hitch at Plymouth Congregational Church, and hopefully will be great exposure in a new and different vein from the tradition of “Thanksgiving with Cantus” specials.
We also sang a short 3 pieces for the board of Chorus America (meeting for a weekend at MPR). Great networking and relationship building, and good questions from leaders in our field meant a raise in our artistic profile and (hopefully) goodwill for the recent commission and future awards (with both artistic AND monetary value attached as well).
Education Outreach Coordinator – Sam Green
High School Residency
September kicked off the beginning of HSR 16-17 with hour-long concerts at our 3 participating schools, Washburn High School (Minneapolis), Johnson Senior High (St. Paul), and St. Michael - Albertville (St. Michael). Our next visits to the schools will be in small groups to work with their choirs in a masterclass format, and set goals for the year. Check out the article in the program for “No Greater Love Than This”!
We are currently accepting applications for the 17-18 school year. If you know of an educator or choir program who could benefit from Cantus HSR, please send them my way, or share with them our HSR link: http://www.cantussings.org/for-educators/cantus-high-school-residency/
I have been sending personal emails to past participants and schools that have applied and not been selected. We would love to see more applicants!
Applications are due Monday November 14.
National Outreach
We had our first masterclass of the season at the Wartburg College Real Men Sing Festival on Saturday October 8. There were 700 students grades 7-12 in attendance for our masterclass with Festeburg; Wartburg’s extra curricular men’s a cappella ensemble that is modeled after Cantus. We really do enjoy working with collegiate singers who are on the cusp of great music making. The men of Festeburg had great questions for us regarding our collaborative model.
Community Outreach
Carly and I met with 2 representatives from Big Brothers Big Sisters to begin planning an event for the Spring. EXPLORE Careers Series provides “Littles” and “Bigs” (children and their mentors) an opportunity to discover vocation opportunities, and receive behind the scenes looks at how people perform their day to day jobs. This event would likely look very similar to an open rehearsal and/or lecture demonstration, with opportunities to connect with the participants and describe what it’s like to work not only as a professional singer, but also in the arts administration and non-profit fields! We hope to include some incentive such as comp tickets to a Covers concert in June, depending on availability and interest. Special shout out to Kylie Foss for introducing us to this wonderful program!
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.