Renowned men’s ensemble, Cantus, to perform concert with local students, March 20

Concert: Cantus Young Men’s Festival Concert
Date and time: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: $10, all seats. Tickets available at the door only. GC students are free with ID.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Over 75 young male singers from 10 high schools in Indiana and Ohio will participate in a choral workshop and concert with Cantus, a renowned a cappella men’s vocal ensemble, on Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Goshen College’s Sauder Concert Hall.

The students will work with members of Cantus and Goshen College Men’s Chorus Director James Heiks in sectionals and clinics throughout the afternoon. The workshop will conclude with a joint concert with Cantus and the Goshen College Men’s Chorus. Participating high schools are Bethany Christian, Goshen, Fairfield, Angola, Jimtown, NorthWood, Tri-West Hendricks (Pittsboro, Ind.), Frankfurt (Ind.), New Haven (Ind.) and Pettisville (Ohio).

Cantus was founded in the fall of 1995 when a few college friends gathered on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. Their objective was to spend time away from the rigors of college life doing something they enjoyed: singing. During the next two years the ensemble grew to 12 members and began performing at venues on campus.

Cantus has performed more than 300 concerts across the nation during the past seven years. In September 2000, Cantus established itself as a full-time nonprofit arts organization based in Minnesota. In summer 2002, Cantus sang to great acclaim at the Oregon Bach Festival, the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music in Minneapolis and was the choir-in-residence at the International Choral Kathaumixw in British Columbia, Canada. In summer 2003, Cantus made its first European appearance singing at the Polyfolia festival in Normandy, France. For the last three years Cantus has also appeared in concert with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in a holiday program titled Cantus and Carols, which has been broadcast around the country through Public Radio International. Cantus has also been resident artists at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.

The singers of Cantus are active proponents of music education, encouraging people of all ages, and especially young men, to sing. They are frequent clinicians at festivals, elementary and middle schools, high schools and colleges and universities across the country. Cantus has recorded eight CDs on their own label, Cantus Recordings. Their most releases “Let Your Voice Be Heard,” “…Against the dying of the light” and “Deep River” have been hailed by critics and the public alike.

Editors: For more information about this release, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.