Cantus Announces 2021-22 Season

Now in its 27th year, the acclaimed vocal ensemble Cantus will return to concert stages this fall in the Twin Cities and throughout the country. From October through July, Cantus will present six new programs in ten venues statewide; the return of Chanticleer for a second collaborative performance at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis; and the Cantus Anniversary Gala in June 2022 at the Ordway in St. Paul, belatedly celebrating the ensemble's 25th Anniversary delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cantus will also resume national touring for the first time since March 2020.

Maintaining a worthwhile new tradition borne out of the pandemic, Cantus will continue making concerts available online in a pay-what-you-can format. The COVID-19 Sessions will be released by Signum Classics as a physical album exclusively for Cantus audiences to have in time for Christmas 2021, before launching the album internationally in Spring. Recorded in March 2020, the COVID-19 Sessions album release follows the long-awaited release of Manifesto in June 2021.

"We couldn't be more excited to get back in front of live audiences, says Cantus tenor Paul Scholtz. "This season's slate of programs represents the best of what we do - ambitious subject matter, new commissions, major collaborations, and standards of the repertoire from Bach to Bonds."

Cantus opens the season October 15-24 with My Journey Yours, a program exploring the courage of those who leave their homes in search of a brighter future, whether by choice, by force, or by necessity. December 10-21, Cantus brings its popular Christmas with Cantus: Three Tales of Christmas to ten Twin Cities venues, and a new venue in Rochester, MN. Three Tales of Christmas features narrated passages from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree and Dakota and the Snow Phoenix, a new work written by Cantus bass Chris Foss.

Cantus will finally resume touring this season, performing My Journey Yours or Three Tales of Christmas in a dozen locales nationwide including stops in Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia.

On January 30, 2022, Cantus and Chanticleer return to Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis for an encore of their popular collaborative concert originally presented at Orchestra Hall in 2016. During this one-time-only event, two of the country's most acclaimed vocal ensembles will come together to perform selections of their own before joining forces.

In March 2022, Cantus performs A New World, a program of rarely performed works by Antonín Dvorák and Leoš Janácek, as well as an encore performance of Margaret Bonds' "Fields of Wonder," a recently rediscovered song cycle for low voices set to the poetry of Langston Hughes .

In April/May 2022, Cantus collaborates with the Bach Society of Minnesota on Legends and Lies: The Story of Till Eulenspiegel. Inspired by Daniel Kehlmann's acclaimed novel, the program tells the story of the life of the mischievous prankster Till Eulenspiegel as he crosses a battle-weary Europe during the 30 Years' War.

Cantus kicks off summer 2022 in June with their fan-favorite series, Covers. This iteration of Covers: A Change is Gonna Come, celebrates personal and collective journeys toward freedom with hits from Diana Ross, Sam Cooke, Lady Gaga, and more.

The ensemble will bring together Cantus members past and present for a belated 25th Anniversary concert and gala on June 26, 2022 at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and RiverCentre.

The season will conclude with the summer chamber music program Ramas y Raíces: Songs from Latin America July 19-22. This intimate concert will include solos and duets along with the full ensemble.

Cantus 2021-22 Season Ticket information
Three-, four-, five-, and six-concert subscription packages go on sale to the public on Friday, August 20 at cantussings.org. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the Cantus box office at 612-435-0055.

• Six-concert package: $165 each
• Five-concert package: $145 each
• Four-concert package: $122 each
• Three-concert package: $96 each

The Chanticleer collaboration concert and the anniversary gala concert are special events and are not included in subscriptions. However, subscribers will have priority access to purchase tickets for these concerts beginning Monday, September 13.

Single tickets for the entire season - including the Chanticleer and anniversary concerts - will be available to the public beginning Monday, September 20. Pay-what-you-can tickets for online concerts will be available approximately one month ahead of each program.

Covid-19 Safety Guidelines: Cantus asks that all audience members wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status to comply with requirements across all performance venues and with CDC guidance. For concerts at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, audiences will be required to show proof of vaccination to attend. Visit www.cantussings.org for more details and for pandemic-related updates.

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