NEWS

Ware Academy will host the vocal ensemble, Cantus, on February 3rd at 9:00 am in the Kilborn Gymnasium on campus. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Reservations are required for this event.

Cantus imageThis “intellectually, emotionally and musically rich” (Star Tribune) nine-member men’s vocal ensemble Cantus is known worldwide for its trademark warmth and blend and its engaging performances of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. The Washington Post has hailed the Cantus sound as having both “exalting finesse” and “expressive power” and refers to the “spontaneous grace” of its music making. Cantus performs more than 60 concerts each year in national and international touring, and in its home of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Past performances have brought Cantus to the stages of the Kennedy Center, UCLA, San Francisco Performances, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and New York’s Merkin Concert Hall. During their 2014-15 season, Cantus performed twice in New York at Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in Houston, Dallas, Berkeley and the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois among numerous other North American engagements.

As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has grown in prominence with its distinctive approach to creating music. Working without a conductor, the members of Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the entirety of the artistic process.

The ensemble is heard frequently on public radio as regular guests on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and on Performance Today‘s annual Thanksgiving program “Thanksgiving with Cantus,” heard each year on more than 200 public radio stations nationwide. Cantus is the recipient of numerous awards, including Chorus America’s highest honor, the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence (2009), as well as Chorus America’s Education Outreach Award (2011). Cantus was also the 2010-2011 Artist in Residence on Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media’s Performance Today.

Integral to the Cantus mission is its commitment to preserve and deepen music education in the schools. Cantus works with more than 5,000 students each year. Please contact Ginger James, Ware Academy’s Director of Admissions and Special Events, at gjames@wareacademy.org or 804.693.3825 with questions or to express interest to attend.