Saturday evening, the all-male, nonprofit, professional a capella group CANTUS performed at College Baptist Church to a sold-out crowd with a waiting list of over 100 people.
The concert began with an African proverb: “if you have legs, you can dance; if you have a voice, you can sing.”
The proverb set the tone for the entire concert, which took the audience on a journey around the world through the universal language of music.
Each piece allowed the audience to experience a different flavor of culture, highlighting the cultural distinctions that are expressed in music.
Through the differences, however, similarities are heard.
“You start to hear the tiny strings that connect one person to one person,” Chris Foss, bass, said during the concert.
A highlight of the group’s performance was their ability to capture authentic cultural sounds by changing vowel shapes and placement of sound in their heads, noses, or throats.
In a few of their pieces, they used their bodies as instruments – strategically placed audible breaths or steps – to convey the message of the song.
“The concert is called Anthem, and it looks at why people come together to sing,” said Aaron Humble, a tenor who has been part of CANTUS for 10 years. “We’ve never done a program that is such an obvious topic for a vocal ensemble. It has a little bit of audience participation, and that has really been a special thing for me.”
The showmanship, artistry, and professionalism of the group was noteworthy. The singers worked together like a well-oiled machine, making eye-contact with one another on stage to stay in sync.
When asked about his favorite thing about being in CANTUS, Humble alluded to this phenomenon. He enjoys “being out on stage with eight other people that I really trust. I don’t ever get nervous for concerts because I know that we’re prepared, that there’s been a lot of thought put into the programming, and that’s a really great feeling.”
Earlier in the day, CANTUS held a master class in the McNamara Rehearsal Hall where they performed several pieces, worked with the Chamber Choir on vowels and text painting, and answered questions about the group and the life of professional artists.
CANTUS, which hails from the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, is comprised of two basses, two baritones, and five tenors. They have been that size for around twelve years, auditioning for new members as spots become available.
“Getting the right people in the room is the first step, and then you have to serve the music,” Humble said.
CANTUS is their full time job: members participate in daily morning meetings followed by five hours of rehearsal in the afternoon.
“You kind of get chords of steel or you quit,”one member said.
James Holleman, head of the music department, spoke highly of the group leading up to the concert and said he was not disappointed.
Holleman sees the CANTUS performance, and its popularity, as fruit of the growth of Hillsdale’s Professional Artist Series. He was impressed with how quickly tickets were reserved, something he did not recall occurring when CANTUS visited campus around 10 years ago.
“I think we have a culture on this campus now that’s more in tune to the arts,” Holleman said. “I think the music department has done great things to build that on this campus. We’ve set high standards; we’ve gained the trust of our audience for our student performances as well as for our guest artists.”
More exciting than getting high quality performers, Holleman is pleased to be able to offer these performers for free. Outside performances of groups featured in Hillsdale’s Professional Artist Series cost anywhere from 20 dollars to hundreds of dollars.
“There’s a perception that if it’s free, it’s not of value, and I think we’ve gotten past that because it’s consistent,” Holleman said of the quality of performers on campus.
Looking forward, Holleman encourages all to take advantage of the opportunity to see upcoming performances of the student, faculty, and professional varieties to enhance the Hillsdale experience outside of the classroom.
As the CANTUS concert concluded after a standing ovation and an encore performance of “America the Beautiful,” baritone Mattew Goinz gave the audience a similar charge going forth: “May anthems continue to rise from your heart, spring from your lips, and brighten your day.”
