Cantus is dedicated to deepening our educational impact through our High School Mentorship (HSM) Program. Through this program, we offer sustained engagement in a comprehensive and personalized approach to nurturing the talents of young singers and the educators who guide them. In this free, year-long intensive program partnering with a Twin Cities area high school choral program, we strive for continuity and depth in our focus on improving the students’ musical skills; fostering conversation and activities around artistic entrepreneurship; observing and participating in models of giving and receiving constructive criticism in a collaborative setting; helping students develop their artistic voice through both music and text; and modeling empathy, vulnerability, and personal authenticity in music-making.
This year, we’re thrilled to be partnered with St. Louis Park High School and choral director Steve Mollick. We’ve already begun our visits to the school and have been excited by the music-making that we’ve experienced with these students.
In preparing for the program Mollick, a 20-year teacher, shared that he sees the school’s music program as “ripe for growth.” They have one larger choir open to all students and a smaller select ensemble in which students explore traditional choral music and are introduced to contemporary works as well.
Mollick believes the students will benefit from this partnership with Cantus through experiencing our programming process first-hand and modeling interdependent singing. He hopes his students will continue to improve their focus on listening to each other while understanding how they contribute to the sound as a whole. We hope to help show his students how important their voices are to the strong choral tradition here in Minnesota and around the world.
Recent Comments