Recognized as the "premier men's vocal ensemble in the United States" by Fanfare Magazine, Cantus enjoys a vigorous schedule of national tours, subscription concerts in its home of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, educational outreach programs, and recording. The Washington Post hails the ensemble's sound as having both "exalting finesse" and "expressive power," and refers to their music-making as "spontaneous grace." The ensemble is known for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres, including chant, Renaissance music, contemporary works, art song, folk, spirituals, world music, and pop.
Cantus' 2009-10 season includes increased touring, including the ensemble's Alaskan debut. After bringing the heart-warming story of the Christmas Truce to audiences across the country via national radio broadcast, the group returns to the airwaves and the Pantages Theatre with All is Calm. In May, two of the nation's most prominent artist-led ensembles, Cantus and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, collaborate to present Kurt Weil's Seven Deadly Sins, Schubert's Gesang der Geister über den Wasser, and other masterworks from the German repertoire. In addition to their work with young singers across the nation, Cantus is pleased to work with students from three new Minnesota schools in its "Cantus in Residence" program and to travel to northern Minnesota for an educational and concert tour funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Cantus has toured throughout Canada, West Africa, and Europe. In the United States, the group has sung to great acclaim at many nationally recognized festivals and venues, including the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, The Chautauqua Institution, Merkin Hall, San Francisco Performances, and Oregon Bach Festival, to name a few. Cantus has appeared as a special guest with the Minnesota Orchestra (including a 2008-09 season collaboration with Bobby McFerrin), gone on an extended holiday tour with the Boston Pops, and has a long-standing performing relationship with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Their numerous recordings have garnered critical acclaim from Stereophile, Gramophone, Classics Today, and National Public Radio. The ensemble's eponymous 2007 recording Cantus was named one of NPR's 10 best for 2007. Frequently heard on public radio stations nationwide, Cantus is regularly featured on American Public Media's Performance Today. On Christmas Day, 2006 Cantus was chosen to represent the United States in a 24-hour marathon of music broadcast in 27 countries, via American Public Media and the European Broadcasting Union.
As a non-profit organization, Cantus is an active proponent of music education, encouraging people of all ages - especially men - to sing. The ensemble annually works with over 10,000 young people throughout the country in educational activities ranging from master classes to festivals and collaborations.
A founder of the Male Choir Commissioning Consortium, the ensemble has commissioned numerous new works from composers including Gavin Bryars, Lee Hoiby, Steven Sametz, Kenneth Jennings, Peter Hamlin, Edie Hill, and Robert Kyr. Cantus has received commissioning grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Composers Forum, and Chamber Music America. In addition to these new pieces, much of Cantus' music is composed and arranged by its members.
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