Celebrating 30 Seasons!

A LETTER FROM TENOR PAUL SCHOLTZ:

We are so excited to welcome you to Cantus’ 30th Anniversary this year! It’s hard to imagine how a student-run group has led to a fully professionalized organization with 30 years of extraordinary music-making. How do you measure the impact of Cantus over 30 years?

We could talk about our national and international touring— likely north of a thousand concerts on the road since 1995 not to mention our robust Twin Cities concert seasons with 30 to 40 concerts each year here in Minnesota and for our online audiences.

We could talk about our work with students — inspiring countless singers in schools across the world with masterclasses, residencies, and sharing the work of collaboration in the musical setting.

You could survey our emotionally relevant and compelling programs that fulfill our mission to ‘give voice to shared human experiences’ — perhaps 100 different show concepts in all ranging in topics from immigration, people experiencing homelessness, the struggles of military families, to covering entire albums including the Beatles and Joni Mitchell.

As I reflect on my own 10-year journey with Cantus, the thing I’m most proud of is our collaborative, non-hierarchical model. If you’re reading this newsletter, you’ve likely heard it all before, but for the artists in our arc, it really is a singular experience that shapes us as individuals and guarantees the ensemble’s artistry through a legacy of singers.

When I first joined Cantus, I didn’t really know what it meant to work without a conductor. Besides some obvious logistical things to work out, it seemed straightforward enough to me— What I discovered is that the process of giving and receiving blunt, constructive feedback, being held to an extremely high standard of performance by your colleagues, but more than that, an extremely high level of engagement and buy-in shapes you as a person and performer. The model produces vulnerable, honest, and passionate stewards of Cantus.

When we enter the rehearsal room each day, we expect from our colleagues a solutions-oriented mindset and a supportive community despite frequent disagreements. We like to say that we don’t often (ever?) make the right decision, but whatever decision we make, we each are obligated to buy-in 100% going forward. Sometimes we fall short, but on the whole Cantus is truly an endeavor in consensus-building and what you see on stage is a reflection of combined effort and artistry from each of the eight singers, supported and augmented by a hardworking staff and board.

On behalf of the artists present and past, thank you for listening, attending, supporting, and advocating for Cantus. We couldn’t exist without our community, and I truly believe there’s something special and important here that’s worth safeguarding for the future. Well done and let’s get to work!