Cantus is a nine-member male vocal a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 ensemble based in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, USA.

Biography

Cantus is a full-time, professional vocal chamber ensemble, made up of nine men singing in a TTBB (tenor, tenor, baritone, bass), changed male voice arrangement. The artists are self-led, with programming and musical direction coming from within the group itself. The ensemble is known for innovative concert programming, often tying together works of numerous genres to explore a selected theme, including classical music, orchestral-vocal repertoire, folk music, art song, popular songs, spirituals, and newly commissioned works.

The vocal group maintains a schedule of around 70 live concert performances and 30-40 education/outreach activities in a given season, both in the United States of America and abroad. Cantus is an active proponent of music education, encouraging people of all ages - especially men - to sing. The ensemble has worked with tens of thousands of singers throughout the country in educational activities ranging from master classes to festivals and collaborations. New members are acquired through annual national auditions.

The group was established by St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...

 students Brian Arreola, Albert Jordan, Erick Lichte, and Kjell Stenberg (three of whom were cellists), who recruited fellow students to sing with them in 1995. After a successful Northeast Tour in the summer of 1998, Cantus transitioned into a professional ensemble and non-profit organization by 2000, based out of Minneapolis, MN.

Notability

Cantus is the only artist-led full time classical vocal ensemble in the United States, and is one of two professional classical male vocal ensembles in the United States that pays its artists full-time salaries, while maintaing a year-round schedule of performances, the other being San Francisco’s Chanticleer

Chanticleer (ensemble)

Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...

.

The ensemble was the 2009 recipient of Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award, the first collaborative ensemble to earn this award.

Cantus was selected by Minnesota Public Radio to be Artists in Residence for the 2010-11 season. The residency included supported touring, radio co-hosting, and international broadcasts via Performance Today.

As part of their 2011-2012 season, Cantus has been featured with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. The 2011-2012 season also features a reprise of the group's critically acclaimed collaboration with Theater Latte Da, All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, which tells the true story of the Christmas Truce of 1914, when World War I soldiers set down their arms to celebrate the holidays with the enemy.

Current members

Aaron Humble, Tenor

Paul Rudoi, Tenor

Gary Ruschman, Tenor

Shahzore Shah, Tenor

David Walton, Tenor

Adam Reinwald, Baritone

Matthew Tintes, Bass-Baritone

Chris Foss, Bass

Timothy C. Takach, Bass

Recordings

Cantus has released numerous critically acclaimed recordings in 24-bit, High-Resolution Compact Disc format, most of which were recorded by noted engineer and Stereophile Magazine Editor, John Atkinson. The group's 2010 release That Eternal Day brought in the Grammy Award-winning production team of Steve Barnett and Preston Smith for recording, engineering, and mastering.

• Christmas with Cantus (2011)
• That Eternal Day (2010)
• Outside the Box (Limited Release) (2009)
• All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (2008)
• While You Are Alive (2008)
• Cantus (2007)
• There Lies the Home (2006)
• Cantus Live: Vol. 2 (2006)
• Comfort and Joy: Volume Two (2005)
• Comfort and Joy: Volume One (2004)
• Deep River" (2003)
• “...against the dying of the light” (2002)
• Let Your Voice Be Heard (2001)

Student recordings

• Vagabond (1999 - Student Recording)
• Tidings (1998 - Student Recording)
• Introit (1997 - Student Recording)

Former members

Kurt Anderson, baritone (1996–1999)

Brian Arreola, tenor (1995–2005)

Nathan Bird, tenor (2010-2011)

Dashon Burton (2005–2009)

E. Mani Cadet, tenor (2006–2007)

Kelvin Chan, baritone (2000–2005)

Brad Cramer-Erbes, tenor (2002–2005)

Alan Dunbar, bass-baritone (1998–2004)

Micheal Hanawalt, tenor (1996–2004)

Eric Hopkins Ellingsen, tenor (2008-2011)

Curt Hopmann, tenor (2000–2001)

Brook Jacobsen, baritone/tenor (1995–1999)

Albert Jordan, tenor (1995–2006)

Michael Jones, tenor (2006-2008)

Erick Lichte, bass-baritone (1995–2003)

Mitch Lewandowski, bass (1995–1996)

Tom McNichols, bass (2004-2008)

Phillip Moody, baritone (1996–2000)

Tom Phelps, bass (1996–1998)

Kjell Stenberg, baritone (1995–1998)

Lawrence Wiliford, tenor (1995-2002)

Paul Wilson, baritone (1999–2002)

Peter Zvanovec, tenor (1999–2006)

External links

Cantus Sings

Meet Cantus! on YouTube