The choral ensemble’s 2008-09 season included engagements at Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Chicago Symphony. In July 2008, the ensemble performed at prestigious festivals in France, Germany, Poland, and Latvia. They group was also inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in Cincinnati.
The 12 men, ranging from countertenor to bass, have earned a reputation for their crisp style, lush tones, and compelling interpretations of vocal literature, whether they are singing Renaissance, jazz, gospel, or original music.
Chanticleer’s mission since its inception in 1978 has been to “present choral music at the highest level of excellence, and to encourage worldwide appreciation of the art of ensemble singing through live performances, recordings, education, and the creation of new choral works,” according to the Web site.
Their History
Louis Botto founded the group when he discovered that few musicians were presenting the medieval and Renaissance repertoire he was studying and loved. In forming his ensemble, he chose to follow the Renaissance tradition of most churches, which was to include only male voices.
The first nine members came from the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. One of the founding members, baritone Charlie Erikson, happened to be reading Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales at the time, and he suggested the name “Chanticleer.” In “The Nun's Priest's Tale,” Chanticleer is the name of the "clear singing" rooster.
Once the group was founded, Mr. Botto strove to find full-time, salaried employment for Chanticleer’s members. In the early years, the group toured in a van for trips lasting as long as 10 weeks, and they still had a difficult time making enough to survive. By 1991, Chanticleer was able to pay all 12 members of the ensemble living wages.
Today with the help of funding, the group conducts extensive education programs which include in-school clinics and workshops, master classes for university students nationwide, and a summer workshop for adult choral singers.
Chanticleer concluded their performances in New York Dec. 7 and will be returning to California for the rest of December. For more information, see http://www.chanticleer.org.
