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Cantemus Medley!
While sharing their talents with Cantemus, our singers also make an impact elsewhere in the arts community and in their various chosen vocations. Here’s a recent sampling:

In July, altos Deb Twining and Betsy Lebel, bass Bill Dowdall, and soprano Susan Nash spent a week at the Berkshire Choral Festival in Sheffield, MA. Morning rehearsals were followed by noontime classes in music theory, history, or performance. After free afternoons, participants enjoyed pre-dinner talks and faculty concerts, and then attended evening rehearsals. (Imagine singing five hours a day for six days!) The climax came on Saturday night: 237 voices performed Beethoven’s Mass in C and the Duruflé Requiem accompanied by the Springfield Symphony and conducted by Donald McCullough, of The Master Chorale of Washington, D.C. For more information, see the BCF web site (www.choralfest.org). This organization provides a fabulous singing experience for more than 1,000 people every year. Just ask Deb (this was her 10th year) and Bill (he met his wife there!).

Author and Cantemus alto Pat Lowery Collins recently received the Boston Author’s Club Julia Ward Howe Award for the best children’s book of 2004. The award is for The Fattening Hut, a young adult novel published by the children’s division of Houghton Mifflin. The Fattening Hut was also chosen for the Booksense 76 list for 2003-2004. The book tells the story of a young girl who resists the traditions of her tribe and fights to become educated and free. What reviewers have said: “(the book is) powerful and unique...” “so powerfully written that it seems to be not just for this character, but for a tribe, a gender, a race”... and “the impact of each word and the tempo of the narrative drive readers on.” For more on this and other of Pat’s works, see www.patlowerycollins.com.

One of Cantemus’ new basses, Justin Turner, 16, also happens to be the son of soprano Bettina Turner. Justin, a junior at Newburyport High School, has been singing with the school’s choir and select choir for the past two years, as well as in his church and in school musicals. He enjoyed the challenge of auditioning for an “adult group” like Cantemus and says he was happily surprised and proud to be invited to join. His mother is “thrilled to share my love of singing with my son. It’s unusual for teenagers to want to join in activities with their parents and it’s a great opportunity for us to spend time together. The main challenge so far has been to fit Justin with a tuxedo for his lanky frame!”

Cantemus bass Richard Salandrea, soprano Susan Nash and tenor Tim Bakland (on sabbatical this semester) sang in the octet chorus of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, performed September 17 and 19 by Prism Opera (www.prismopera.org), in a new English translation by, and under the artistic direction of, Thomas Stumpf. Thomas performed with Cantemus in December, reading A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

Cantemus Hosts 5th Annual “Best of the Best” Chorus Festival
Beverly, St. John’s Prep, Marblehead and Rockport High Schools Sing

For the fifth consecutive year, the Cantemus Chamber Chorus hosted some of the North Shore’s elite high school choral groups in a festival of song. This year’s “Best of the Best” concert took place November 3 at Beverly High School. Each school and Cantemus presented a short program, then all 115 voices joined together for a grand finale.

This year’s festival participants were Beverly High School, St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Marblehead High School and Rockport High School.

Cantemus singer Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, the event’s organizer, said: “This unique outreach program demonstrates a real commitment to mentoring young singers and creating a special opportunity for them to perform for each other and to share the stage with the adult singers of Cantemus.”

The 32-voice Cantemus group kicked off the evening with several songs, under their interim director Gary Wood. Then they turned the stage over to the young singers.

Hosting the evening was the seven-year-old Beverly High School Chorus. Its 47 singers perform a cappella music “from serious to pop,” according to Director of Choral Music Carolyn Pilanen. Besides local performances, the group will compete in the Festivals of Music Competition in Toronto this spring. This is their second Best of the Best appearance, and, Pilanen said, “I love the fact that my students will get a chance to hear the voices of other kids their age in the area in a non-competitive situation. It gives them a chance to really appreciate the music.”

The 12-singer, all-male Travel Choir from St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers specializes in classical, folk and barbershop music. Part of the 110-voice Men’s Chorus that performed at Best of the Best three years ago, this smaller group lives up to its name: Conductor Michael Hamill will take the group to England in February to participate in a choral festival at Gloucester Cathedral. In November, they’ll perform at a fundraiser in Everett, toraise money for a mission project in Haiti; next spring, they’ll help to raise funds for Pettingill House in Salisbury.

Choral Director Amanda Roeder leads the two-year-old, 11-voice Marblehead Jewel Tones, who specialize in a cappella pop from the last four decades by composers such as Paul Simon and Billy Joel. The Jewel Tones are familiar to Marblehead residents for their performances at town meetings and local fundraisers. This was their first appearance at the Best of the Best festival.

The Rockport Public High School Madrigal Chorus, under Choral Director Patricia Pike, consists of 11 women and two men. The four-year-old group specializes in 17th- and 18th-century madrigals, jazz and folk music. This was their first Best of the Best appearance. The Madrigal Chorus will appear publicly again in December — when they sing at a wedding!

Susan Nash, who has been singing with Cantemus for 18 years, added: “At the Best of the Best concert, we want to show young singers that singing is an artistic activity they can pursue all the years they are in school – and many, many years after. Every year, the Cantemus singers are amazed at the quality of musicianship of these high school groups, and at the terrific job their conductors are doing to encourage them to pursue choral singing.”

Cantemus gratefully acknowledges support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Cultural Councils of Beverly, Gloucester, Hamilton-Wenham, Ipswich and Newburyport.
Cantemus is a member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium, a cooperative association of diverse choral groups in Boston and the surrounding areas.

John Hoffacker Resigns as Music Director
Ipswich Chronicle, September 9, 2004

After 10 years as music director for Cantemus Chamber Chorus, John Hoffacker is stepping down. In a letter to the 37 members who make up the North Shore group, the young director expressed his regret at leaving what he described as "the most wonderful people on earth." Read more.

Gary Wood Appointed Interim Music Director

As the holiday music season gets underway, Cantemus enthusiastically welcomes Gary Wood to the podium as interim Music Director. Gary currently is currently chair of the Salem State College Music Department, and, as assistant professor, teaches primarily in the choral/vocal curriculum. In addition to his work at Salem State, he has conducted the Senior and Junior Choirs at First Church in Wenham since 1996. Previously, he taught for six years at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia. He also plays jazz piano and studies jazz guitar.

A native of Missouri, Gary received his Master of Sacred Music degree from Southern Methodist University and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“The arts and music, in general, and choral music, in particular, make a vital contribution to the quality of people’s lives,” says Gary. “In a society that seems to value power, riches, and fun, it is imperative that artists and arts educators emphasize the empowerment, enrichment, and true joy that accompany our involvement in the arts. It is the redemptive powers of musical activity which underline my work as a conductor and educator.”

About his being named interim Music Director of Cantemus, Gary says, “I am very pleased to have this opportunity with Cantemus, with its distinguished history of over 20 years. As a contributing member to the cultural life of the North Shore, Cantemus celebrates the choral art and the humanity of making music with one another. The enthusiasm and dedication of these singers is outstanding, and I look forward to our musical growth together in the coming months.”

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Order a CD

Ranging from traditional carols to international music of the season to a complete performance of Benjamin Britten’s masterful "Ceremony of Carols" for treble voices and harp, our debut CD presents the listener with a sampling of our most spirited seasonal pieces.

"Joy Shall Be Yours" is available for purchase at all of our concerts as well as at the River Gallery in Ipswich.

To purchase "Joy Shall Be Yours" by mail, please send a check or money order for $10 per CD, or 2 for $15, plus $2.50 shipping and handling, payable to Cantemus, P.O. Box 784, Ipswich, MA 01938.