Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

How do you define the Chanticleer Ensemble?
Chanticleer is one of only two full-time, professional vocal ensembles in the United States. We were founded by a San Antonio native, Louis Botto, in 1978. We started as an early music ensemble, singing music from the Renaissance with countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass voices. However, the ensemble quickly expanded its repertoire, and now we perform everything from Medieval music to vocal jazz and contemporary classical commissions.

How long have you been with the group? Why did you join? What do you enjoy most about being part of it?
I sang with the ensemble for one season in 2017 as a countertenor. I started as music director in 2020. Chanticleer is a dream job for me- I get to work with world-class singers every day. And we get to explore all genres of music.

You are the music director. Describe your responsibilities.
As the music director, I lead rehearsals and program concerts. Chanticleer is an unconducted ensemble, so, even though my background is in conducting, I don’t usually conduct the group in performance.

Do you still sing with the group?
I sing with the group occasionally when the timing or repertoire allow, but I am not always touring with the ensemble.

The program for the concert in San Antonio seems huge, with so many pieces. How was it put together and by whom?
I put together the repertoire for this concert with input and advice from the ensemble members. We always try to include a wide range of music in our concerts, from Renaissance motets to contemporary commissions. This program is no different. The program is titled “Music of a Silent World,” and we try to explore the voices and songs of different elements of the natural world. The crux of the program is a new song cycle by composer, Majel Connery, called  ”The Rivers Are Our Brothers.”

What do you like best about Chanticleer? Do you feel like you are on a mission or simply entertaining people?
Of course, one of Chanticleer’s goals is to entertain, but it’s also our mission, as one of the premiere vocal ensembles in the country, to explore new repertoire and to comment on the world we live in today. Art can’t exist in a vacuum, and the best art is a reflection or exploration of the world we live in. It’s our responsibility to share that art – and also to entertain!

Are there other similar ensembles in the country?
There is another full-time professional group in Minneapolis, called Cantus. They only employ tenors and baritones and basses. (We use countertenors for the higher parts.)

The “Chapel” that you will be performing in is really a fairly large church, with resonant acoustics. Have you performed there before?
Chanticleer has been in San Antonio many times!

Have you met Mary Ann Winden who started the CARITAS Concert Series?
I have not but my predecessor might have.
———————————————————————————————————————Other composers included in the program are: Kurt Weill, Hoagy Carmichael, Max Reger, Stephen Sondheim, Anne Ronell, Ayanna Woods, Joni Mitchell, and others. The performing ensemble has tenor, baritone; countertenor and bass voices. Chanticleer has won a range of awards, including three GRAMMY AWARDS. (April 12 at 7:30 p.m.; Chapel of the Incarnate Word, 4503 Broadway; free but ticket registration is required at https://tinyurl.com/2fcfsuwd)