July 3-27: Chanticleer tours U.S. and Europe

Chanticleer (photo: Stephen K Mack)

(May 2024) — Multiple Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer – a group that
“fascinates and enthralls … through luxurious perfection” (Los Angeles Times) – performs at
Appalachian State University (July 3) and at the Newport Classical Music Festival (July 7) this
summer before embarking on a twelve-stop European tour that marks its first trip to Europe
since the pandemic. Highlights of the tour – which varies between the “Music of a Silent World”
and “Sing Joyfully” programs – include a stop in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where Chanticleer will
collaborate for the first time with Grammy-nominated British vocal ensemble Voces8 (July 13),
and the group’s first performance in Dresden, taking place at the storied Frauenkirche. As
Gramophone declared in its five-star review of Chanticleer’s latest album, On a Clear Day: “The
group’s make up has changed often in the almost half-century of its existence, but the quality and
commitment they bring to this recording must have been present from the beginning. … The
entire programme is delivered with the skilful aplomb one expects from these voices.”

“Music of a Silent World,” a new program for Chanticleer beginning last season, centers on Majel
Connery’s The Rivers are our Brothers, a song cycle on ecological responsibility told from the
point of view of the land. Each movement represents a different part of the Sierra Nevada’s
natural beauty, from its mountains to its forests, rocks, rivers, and snowbanks. The title of the
cycle is based on a quote from the Native American leader Chief Seattle, who believed humans
must relate to their environment the way they relate to their closest kin. “The goal,” says Connery,
“is to give nature a voice. I wanted to allow these vibrant things to speak on their own behalf.” As
a solo song cycle, the work was first performed in the Sierra Valley as part of Musica Sierra’s
Musical Headwaters program in 2021, and Musica Sierra served as co-commissioner with
Chanticleer of the six choral arrangements being performed this summer. Also featured on the
program is Chanticleer composer-in-residence Ayanna Woods’s “I miss you like I miss the trees”
on the subject of wildfires, along with music by Heinrich Isaac, Max Reger, Kurt Weill and more.

Chanticleer’s “best of” program titled “Sing Joyfully” showcases the ensemble’s versatility in
every genre. A jubilant celebration of choral singing, the program draws from some of
Chanticleer’s most beloved staples, including partsongs, contemporary commissions, vocal jazz,
and everything in between. Repertoire includes Renaissance motets by William Byrd and
Josquin des Prez, classic arrangements of familiar folk songs like “Shenandoah” and “Calling my
children home,” settings of the jazz standards “Blue Skies” and “Stardust,” contemporary
arrangements of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” and much
more.

With a schedule of approximately 100 performances a year around the world, Chanticleer has
cultivated an enormous and unswervingly loyal global family. Long-known for stylistic versatility,
the group is especially well-positioned to appeal to a broad range of listeners in the era of social
media marketing. Some of Chanticleer’s most recent and outspoken enthusiasts have been
reached through platforms like TikTok, on which they recently released a sample of chant from
the video game “Halo: Combat Evolved” that has received more than 7.2 million views since it
was posted on November 15, 2023.

About Chanticleer

The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer is known around the world as “an
orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. Founded in San
Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one
of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling more than one million
recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the globe.

Rooted in the Renaissance, Chanticleer’s repertoire has been expanded to include a wide range of
classical, gospel, jazz and popular music and to reflect a deep commitment to the commissioning
of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has dedicated much of its vast recording
catalogue to these commissions, garnering Grammy Awards for its recordings of Sir John
Tavener’s Lamentations & Praises and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled
Colors of Love. Chanticleer is the recipient of Chorus America’s Dale Warland Singers Commission
Award and the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. During his tenure
with Chanticleer, Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings received the Chorus America
Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African American choral tradition.

Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer
continues to maintain ambitious programming in its hometown of San Francisco, including a large
education and outreach program, and an annual concert series that includes its legendary holiday
tradition, “A Chanticleer Christmas.”

High-resolution photos can be found here.

chanticleer.org
twitter.com/ChanticleerSF
facebook.com/ChanticleerSings
youtube.com/channel/Chanticleer
instagram.com/chanticleersf
tiktok.com/@chanticleersf

Chanticleer Summer 2024 Tour Engagements: “Music of a Silent World” and “Sing
Joyfully”

U.S. dates:
July 3: Boone, NC (Rosen Concert Hall, Appalachian State University)
July 7: Newport, RI (Newport Classical Music Festival)

European dates:
July 11: Sankt Vith, Belgium (Ostbelgien Festival)
July 12: Karlsruhe, Germany (Christuskirche Karlsruhe)
July 13: Ludwigsburg, Germany (Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele; collaborative performance with
Voces8)
July 14: Freigericht, Germany (Männerchor Somborn)
July 16: Lörrach, Germany (Stimmen Festival Lörrach)
July 18: Merano, Italy (Soireen auf Schloss Tirol; Serate a Castel Tirolo)
July 19: Munich, Germany (VokalSinn Festival)
July 20: St. Florian, Austria (OÖ Stiftskonzerte)
July 21: Blaibach, Germany (Konzerthaus Blaibach)
July 24: Gackenbach, Germany (Katholische Kirche Gackenbach)
July 26: Walkenried, Germany (Walkenrieder Kreuzgangkonzerte)
July 27: Dresden, Germany (Frauenkirche Dresden)

#            #            #

© 21C Media Group, May 2024