¡Cantaré!

¡Cantaré! is a unique program designed to bring the talents of composers from Mexico directly into Minnesota classrooms.

Through ¡Cantaré!, selected composers from Mexico participate as artists-in-residence with elementary schools, high schools, colleges and community organizations. The composers work directly with student choirs and community choruses throughout the year, becoming familiar with the ensembles and writing new music specifically for each. At the end of the school year, community and school partners present world premieres of new music in concert.

• In the 2012-2013 school year, Mexican composers Gerardo Cárdenas and Novelli Jurado will spend four weeks over the course of three visits to work with elementary, high school, and community choral singers, exploring Mexican cultural and choral music traditions.

• The program will culminate in the creation of at least six new music compositions by our composers-in-residence, which will be premiered at the ¡Cantaré! Community Concerts at Wayzata Community Church on May 21, 2013. Selected works will be added to VocalEssence Music Press.

• VocalEssence will provide partner schools with a teacher resource guide and companion CD to address social, historical and cultural contexts of Mexican choral music that teachers can use as a springboard for integration into the school curriculum before, between and after residencies.

• Evaluation will continue to be a an important component of the program, as VocalEssence builds upon the evaluation tools developed by UpFront Consulting to ensure the success of the program.

¡Cantaré! community partners receive a teacher resource guide and companion CD that address the social, historical and cultural contexts of Mexican choral music. Classroom teachers use these resources to integrate the program with school curriculum before, between and after the composer residencies.

Mission Statement

¡Cantaré! will actively engage VocalEssence audiences and the wider community in the discovery, celebration and creation of music from Mexican traditions of the past and present.

For more information contact: Kimberly Meisten, Director of Community Engagement, VocalEssence, 612.547.1456, kmeisten@vocalessence.org