Chanticleer Male Chorus Sings At Univ Of Connecticut 4/2

Called "the world's reigning male chorus" by the New Yorker magazine, Chanticleer brings its ringing tones to Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Connecticut in Storrs at 7:30 pm on Thursday, April 2. The Grammy Award-winning, all-male chorus has developed a remarkable reputation over its 31-year history for its interpretation of vocal literature, ranging from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music. With its seamless a cappella blend of twelve male voices, ranging from countertenor to bass, Chanticleer has earned international renown as "an orchestra of voices."

The name "Chanticleer" was taken from one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales that described a "clear-singing rooster." The ensemble was founded in 1978 by the late tenor Louis Botto to revive sacred Renaissance vocal music, and has since brought a veritable symphony of different sounds to the public, incorporating musical traditions from Native America, Japan, Byzantium, Tibet, aboriginal Australia, and the California missions, as well as works by an anonymous medieval master, Tomas Luis de Victoria and Jackson Hill. They have even improvised music with the sounds of nature. Today, Chanticleer has become a "polished performing machine that ... could fairly be called Botto's miracle," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Chanticleer was named 2008 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, the first time a vocal ensemble has been so recognized, and has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for their "tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity." The chorus has performed in Europe, Australia and the Far East, and will make its debut in the People's Republic of China in May 2009. In 1980, when the group participated in the Festival of Masses, a large choral festival held in San Francisco, legendary conductor Robert Shaw told the group that their performance "was one of the most beautiful musical experiences of my life."

The Jorgensen performance, entitled Wondrous Free, will include works by Stephen Foster, traditional pieces such as "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah," several selections from the Renaissance, two irreverent madrigals by P.D.Q. Bach, "Reincarnations" by Samuel Barber, and a selection of folk songs, popular songs and spirituals.

Tickets are $25, $27 and $30; some discounts apply. For tickets and information, call the Box Office Monday through Friday, 11 am to 5 pm at 860.486.4226, or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Jorgensen is located at 2132 Hillside Rd.,
University of Connecticut, Storrs. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.