Press Release

Cantemus Begins 41st Season with “Old World, New Worlds” Concerts

 

Old World, New Worlds
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(Nov. 1, 2022) — Cantemus Chamber Chorus will kick off its 41st season presenting “Old World, New Worlds” in Newburyport and Swampscott the first weekend of December. The centerpiece is audience favorite “A Ceremony of Carols” by Benjamin Britten, accompanied by harp.

Performances will take place at Belleville Congregational Church, 300 High St., Newburyport, on Saturday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. and at First Church in Swampscott, 40 Monument Ave., Swampscott, on Sunday, December 4 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at http://www.cantemus.org/tickets/

For his first concert as Cantemus’ new Artistic Director, Jason Iannuzzi has developed a program that mixes the beloved Old World music of Western Europe with exciting New World repertoire of the Americas and East Asia. Offering ancient texts set to modern music, the program honors the heritages of Christmas and Chanukah in traditional and contemporary modes. In addition to the Britten, the concert includes work by Mendelssohn, preeminent African-American 20th century composer Nathaniel Dett, and others.

Li Shan Tan“What a joy it is to again offer live performances of exquisite choral music,” said Mr. Iannuzzi. “Choral singing and the community it offers both to performer and audience are important in these times of social and political division. We hope this concert helps bridge past and present in a continuum of exciting seasonal music.” Mr. Iannuzzi continued, “Cantemus has a large and loyal audience on the North Shore and beyond, and I am very much looking forward to getting to know them.”

For these performances, Cantemus is excited to welcome Singaporean harpist Li Shan Tan, who will accompany “A Ceremony of Carols” and other selections. Splitting her time between New England and Singapore, Ms. Tan performs with leading ensembles in both locations. Most notably, she has collaborated with the Silk Road Ensemble and appeared as a soloist with Boston Conservatory’s Conductor’s Orchestra as well as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ Chamber Series. Recently, she was a 2022 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts at the New England Conservatory, where she is a Community Performances and Partnerships Fellow.


Cantemus gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Recent programs have also received generous support from the Local Cultural Councils of Beverly, Essex, Georgetown, Groveland, Hamilton/Wenham, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, and Salisbury.

Cantemus singers and musicians come from 23 communities on the North Shore and surroundings, including Amesbury, Beverly, Bradford, Byfield, Danvers, East Boston, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lexington, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the Sea, Marblehead, Melrose, Newburyport, Rockport, Roslindale, Wenham, West Newbury, and Durham NH.

Cantemus is a member of Chorus America, and the Greater Boston Choral Consortium, a cooperative association of diverse choral groups in Boston and the surrounding area.

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Read more about Li Shan Tan

For more information contact:
Carrie Evanchik (press@cantemus.org)

CANTEMUS
P.O. Box 784
Ipswich, MA 01938
 
Our name is pronounced:
“Can-TAME-us”
(Latin for “Let us sing”)
 
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