Cantus Education Outreach

Each year, the nine Cantus artists work with singers and teachers from three Twin Cities (city, suburban and ex-urban) high school choral programs to strengthen their curriculum, increase the administrative and audience base of support and to enhance student learning in choral music. The program includes in-school master classes, a festival day of joint workshops and a final concert featuring all three choirs and Cantus. All nine members of Cantus participate in the yearlong program, building relationships through mentoring and coaching, making it unique among choral education outreach.

This year Chorus America has recognized the Cantus program with its 2011 Chorus America Education Outreach Award. Gayle M. Ober, Chorus America’s Board Chair said, “Chorus America is proud to recognize the work Cantus is doing at the high school level to show young singers (and especially young men!) that they can build careers as professional singers, as well as provide young people from different parts of a greater metropolitan area a chance to interact in a healthy and supportive environment.”

The Cantus High School Residency program began in 2008 with seed funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Cantus had over 10 years of experience from successful outreach on tours, but wanted to create a program that was built around long-term relationships with students.

Schools that have participated in the program to date include:

2010-2011: Park High School (Cottage Grove), Mounds Park Academy (St. Paul) and Farmington High School

2009-2010: South High School (Minneapolis), Cambridge-Isanti High School (Cambridge), Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (Robbinsdale)

2008-2009: Como High School (St. Paul), Minnetonka High School (Minnetonka), St. Peter High School (St. Peter)

“Involvement in school music programs has been part of our mission since Cantus began,” said Education Coordinator and tenor Shahzore Shah. “The more opportunities we have to share our enthusiasm and knowledge with students and the more we can encourage others to sing, the richer our own experience as artists is. We’re thrilled with the important acknowledgement of our work by Chorus America.”

For students and teachers who are increasingly facing cuts in their budgets, the Cantus experience of music education would not be possible without the support of people like you.

Please help us continue to meet, coach, mentor and inspire student singers in the Twin Cities and around the United States with a gift to our Education Outreach fund. Thank you for your investment in the future of arts and culture for years to come!