Artistic Council and Education Outreach Reports
Communications – Paul Scholtz
Artist Activities Week by Week
Programming – Chris Foss
AAM has asked for two booking options next summer that might play to Canadian audiences, as Rob thinks there are good opportunities to put together a tour there. I’ve sent him two drafts, and the ensemble will approve them when they come back together in July. Rob says these presenters start booking for next summer this July and August, so hopefully we’ll have some traction soon!
Small group committees for One Giant Leap, Xmas 2019, and Brave all have scheduled meeting times this next week. The goal for each group is to work towards a more complete draft of the respective programs and speaking materials, with ultimate approval by the ensemble in the ensuing programming meetings, with delivery to AAM and RDPR by the end of July 2019.
The eOne album has been edited and the sales pitch materials have been sent to RDPR. She has pitched several labels, some of which have strong interest in the project (Harmonia Mundi and New Amsterdam, specifically). We are still in the process of pitching to several other labels, but hope to bring the process to a close soon, in order to move for a release within next year’s season.
The ensemble approved Catherine Dalton’s text for her piece that will be featured in One Giant Leap. Catherine has also graciously offered to waive her commission fee if we don’t receive the grant from New Music USA (we’ll find out at the end of June). We hope to have the draft by July 15, and start rehearsals mid-August!
We picked up a last-minute show in Nashville, and since 2 singers aren’t able to make that commitment, we’ll be offering a revised version of our summer program Unrequited, with some minor repertoire changes to accommodate the missing singers.
Our publishing series with Graphite (Tim Takach) has been approved for the first several pieces, so we’ve decided to launch a little earlier than expected! The first few pieces should be available for purchase within a few weeks… among them will be There’s a Meeting Here Tonight!
We are still in deliberations for our composition contest, and will make our final decisions on the winner(s) in the coming weeks, for announcement at the beginning of the next season.
Production – David Geist
This last month has been incredibly exciting for us. We opened and closed our Covers concert where we had the pleasure of performing all of Joni Mitchell’s album Blue. Putting this album together from an artistic side was challenging and fulfilling. We knew we wanted to make it our own without detracting from the stories Joni is telling throughout the album. Chris, Jake, Alberto, and Sam did the bulk of the arranging for the album and I think it is safe to say their work played a major role in making the concert a success. Not only was this project fulfilling from the artist’s perspective, but it seems that the audiences really loved this show. I had many comments about how people thought this year's Covers was extra special, which is always amazing to hear!
We also just had two busy days involving a multitude of projects. We performed our annual Father’s Day show at Lake Harriet Bandshell, which is always fun, and then later that night we went to the Shakopee Women's Correctional Facility to perform with the prison choir Voices of Hope. This has been a very special project that has truly touched all of our hearts, and it was clear that the women were strongly impacted by the collaboration. After the concert many of the women expressed how having us there made them feel like people, instead of like a number, along with noting that being pushed musical and intellectually made them feel equal and worth something (they helped pick the title, repertoire, and delivered most of the speaking points). The audience, comprised of about 80 female inmates, were so supportive of their fellow singers, and by the end of the concert many were on their feet clapping and dancing to the song You Will Be Found, which we all sang together. It was a night I won’t forget.
The next day we spent the afternoon with MPR filming an add campaign in kind of a “pop-up choir” fashion! We went to the DMV in St. Paul and walked in the room singing, and then performed an additional piece as well. It was a fun project that hopefully will result in a cool part of a social media campaign that MPR is working on. Then finally that night we had our final concert with the Minnesota Boy Choir. They sang first and knocked our socks off! They have been a joy to work with this entire year, but getting to see them performing at such a high level was truly inspiring to us. We sang a handful of songs by ourselves and then sang two combined pieces at the end. They boys were fantastic and I believe we all left a lasting impact on each other.
Up next we have the final concert of the season, our chamber concert series which this year is title Unrequited. I have no doubt that it will be a fantastic program, as we are performing all of Schumann’s Dichterliebe, as well as many other fantastic duets and full ensemble pieces. It will be a great way to close out a very successful season.
Education Outreach – Samuel Green
High School/Boychoir Residencies
May and June saw the capstone performances with our HSR participants and our Boychoir collaboration.
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.
Artist Activities Week by Week
- April 21 - Alone Together Tour (Moscow, ID; Seattle, WA)
- April 28 - Voices of Hope (visit #2); AT Tour (Norfolk, VA)
- May 5 - Cantus Idol!
- May 12 - VOH (visit #3); Covers Rehearsal
- May 19 - VOH (visit #4); Covers Rehearsal; Performance at Summit Brewing; Performance on TPT Almanac
- May 26 - Covers Rehearsal; Fox-9 Appearance; Covers Performances 1 & 2
- June 2 - Covers Performances 3, 4 & 5
- June 9 - VOH (visit #5); Break
- June 16 - Lake Harriet Performance; VOH Final Concert; St. Paul DMV Performance - MPR; Minnesota Boychoir Performance; Promotional Video Shoot for Touring Show ‘20-‘21
Programming – Chris Foss
AAM has asked for two booking options next summer that might play to Canadian audiences, as Rob thinks there are good opportunities to put together a tour there. I’ve sent him two drafts, and the ensemble will approve them when they come back together in July. Rob says these presenters start booking for next summer this July and August, so hopefully we’ll have some traction soon!
Small group committees for One Giant Leap, Xmas 2019, and Brave all have scheduled meeting times this next week. The goal for each group is to work towards a more complete draft of the respective programs and speaking materials, with ultimate approval by the ensemble in the ensuing programming meetings, with delivery to AAM and RDPR by the end of July 2019.
The eOne album has been edited and the sales pitch materials have been sent to RDPR. She has pitched several labels, some of which have strong interest in the project (Harmonia Mundi and New Amsterdam, specifically). We are still in the process of pitching to several other labels, but hope to bring the process to a close soon, in order to move for a release within next year’s season.
The ensemble approved Catherine Dalton’s text for her piece that will be featured in One Giant Leap. Catherine has also graciously offered to waive her commission fee if we don’t receive the grant from New Music USA (we’ll find out at the end of June). We hope to have the draft by July 15, and start rehearsals mid-August!
We picked up a last-minute show in Nashville, and since 2 singers aren’t able to make that commitment, we’ll be offering a revised version of our summer program Unrequited, with some minor repertoire changes to accommodate the missing singers.
Our publishing series with Graphite (Tim Takach) has been approved for the first several pieces, so we’ve decided to launch a little earlier than expected! The first few pieces should be available for purchase within a few weeks… among them will be There’s a Meeting Here Tonight!
We are still in deliberations for our composition contest, and will make our final decisions on the winner(s) in the coming weeks, for announcement at the beginning of the next season.
Production – David Geist
This last month has been incredibly exciting for us. We opened and closed our Covers concert where we had the pleasure of performing all of Joni Mitchell’s album Blue. Putting this album together from an artistic side was challenging and fulfilling. We knew we wanted to make it our own without detracting from the stories Joni is telling throughout the album. Chris, Jake, Alberto, and Sam did the bulk of the arranging for the album and I think it is safe to say their work played a major role in making the concert a success. Not only was this project fulfilling from the artist’s perspective, but it seems that the audiences really loved this show. I had many comments about how people thought this year's Covers was extra special, which is always amazing to hear!
We also just had two busy days involving a multitude of projects. We performed our annual Father’s Day show at Lake Harriet Bandshell, which is always fun, and then later that night we went to the Shakopee Women's Correctional Facility to perform with the prison choir Voices of Hope. This has been a very special project that has truly touched all of our hearts, and it was clear that the women were strongly impacted by the collaboration. After the concert many of the women expressed how having us there made them feel like people, instead of like a number, along with noting that being pushed musical and intellectually made them feel equal and worth something (they helped pick the title, repertoire, and delivered most of the speaking points). The audience, comprised of about 80 female inmates, were so supportive of their fellow singers, and by the end of the concert many were on their feet clapping and dancing to the song You Will Be Found, which we all sang together. It was a night I won’t forget.
The next day we spent the afternoon with MPR filming an add campaign in kind of a “pop-up choir” fashion! We went to the DMV in St. Paul and walked in the room singing, and then performed an additional piece as well. It was a fun project that hopefully will result in a cool part of a social media campaign that MPR is working on. Then finally that night we had our final concert with the Minnesota Boy Choir. They sang first and knocked our socks off! They have been a joy to work with this entire year, but getting to see them performing at such a high level was truly inspiring to us. We sang a handful of songs by ourselves and then sang two combined pieces at the end. They boys were fantastic and I believe we all left a lasting impact on each other.
Up next we have the final concert of the season, our chamber concert series which this year is title Unrequited. I have no doubt that it will be a fantastic program, as we are performing all of Schumann’s Dichterliebe, as well as many other fantastic duets and full ensemble pieces. It will be a great way to close out a very successful season.
Education Outreach – Samuel Green
High School/Boychoir Residencies
May and June saw the capstone performances with our HSR participants and our Boychoir collaboration.
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.