Cantus: Brave performed at Hennepin

Cantus: Brave
It takes strength to be vulnerable. It takes courage to ask for help. It takes confidence to reach out and connect.
 

In Brave, Cantus examines what it means to identify as a man in a society that prizes conformity over personal authenticity. With works by composers from Fanny Mendelssohn to Sara Bareilles, Brave takes a nuanced look at evolving ideas of masculinity. The program also includes works by contemporary innovators like Mari Esabel Valverde and Sydney Guillaume, as well as a new multi-movement work by Griffin Candey. The texts feature such luminaries as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Goethe. Cantus’ Brave is a powerful program that asks: Are you strong enough to be sensitive?

Cantus, a renowned low-voice ensemble, is celebrated for its unique warmth, innovative programming, and captivating performances spanning from the Renaissance to the present day. As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has come to 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, creating programs that give voice to shared human experiences. As the Star Tribune has written, “The main hallmark of the Cantus sound has always been sheer quality and an unbroken belief in the special way that vocal music has of warming and invigorating the human spirit.” The Ensemble includes Samuel Bohlander-Green, bass; Jacob Christopher, tenor; Chris Foss, tenor; Rod Kelly Hines, baritone; Alex Nishibun, tenor; Paul John Rudoi, tenor; Paul Scholtz, tenor; and Jeremy Wong, baritone.

Photographs by Nate Ryan, courtesy Cantus.

In 2023 Cantus received The Alice Parker Fund Award which ‘recognises the exemplary work of a Black or Latinx composer or an ensemble that respectfully and authentically presents works incorporating these traditions and experiences’.

Cantus tenor Paul Schlotz said, “We at Cantus are honored to receive Chorus America’s Alice Parker Fund Award. It is a point of emphasis for us to proactively program and present a diversity of music in our work and certainly to feature Black and Latinx compositions.”

‘For us, the award serves as further reinforcement of the essential importance of diversity in effectively executing our mission to give voice to shared human experience by inspiring audiences through song and word, sparking new depths of understanding and empathy.’

Cantus enjoys a vigorous schedule of national and international touring, in addition to home concerts in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Cantus has performed at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, UCLA, San Francisco Performances, Tanglewood and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Cantus also makes all of its home concerts available online. This pandemic-prompted innovation has brought the ensemble’s programs to audiences spanning 50 states and ten countries and we are lucky enough to welcome them to perform here in our Sanctuary.

Cantus Brave: Sunday, May 5 at 2pm, Sanctuary. Suggested donation $25.00