The Cantata Singers was founded in 1964 to prepare and present what was then a long-neglected repertoire, the cantatas of J.S. Bach. Since that time, led by such distinguished music directors as John Harbison (1969-1973, 1980-1982), John Ferris (1976-1980), David Hoose (1982-2022), and Noah Horn (since 2022), the group has expanded its repertoire to include works from the 17th century to the present day. Winner of the 1995 ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music, the organization is dedicated to challenging programming, including the commissioning of new works.
Under the direction of David Hoose, the 44-member Cantata Singers chorus presents an annual subscription series of eight concerts with its chamber orchestra in Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory in Boston, as well as a chamber series featuring vocal chamber works under the direction of pianist Kayo Iwama.
The Cantata Singers has recorded works of J.S. Bach, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Hermann Schein, Arnold Schoenberg, and Igor Stravinsky, as well as the contemporary composers Irving Fine, David Chaitkin, Seymour Shifrin, John Harbison, Charles Fussell and Peter Child. The Cantata Singers' recordings and performances can be heard regularly on local and national radio, most often on WGBH-FM in New England and on the program First Art throughout the USA.
In addition to concert activities, the Cantata Singers sponsors an educational program called "Classroom Cantatas" in the Boston Public Schools. This program introduces composition and performance preparation to elementary, middle, and high school students; by the end of the 12-session residency students with little or no prior musical experience have written and performed their own musical compositions. |
Ellen Allen
Lilly Ahn
Luellen Best
Kathryn Carlson
Sue Carlson
Lauren Cecchini
Farah Darliette
Kumi Donaghue
Nancy Dunkley
Sally Gordon
Riley Granger
Angelica Grau
Joanna Griscom
Elizabeth Hewitt
Angelynne Hinson
Kathy Howard
Patricia Kopko
Sue Ellen Kuzma
Nancy Kurtz
Lyndie Laramore
Leslie Leedberg
Lisa Lynch
Hannah McMeans
Susan K. Navien
Hazel O'Donnell
Kynesha Patterson
Nira Pollock
Janet Ross
Karyl Ryczek
Felicity Salmon
Epp Sonin
Mary Beth Stevens
Caroline Stouffer
Christine Swistro
Carole Taynton
Lisl Urban
Joyce Walworth
Rachel Webb
Alexandra Whitfield |
Emily Adams
Virginia Bailey
Louise Bécam
Elaine Bresnick
Paula Dickerman
Anne Dow
Sheryl Elkin
Carola Emrich-Fisher
Ifeanyi Epum
Elizabeth Eschen
Jade Espina
Bonnie Gleason
Lauren Guthridge
Pamela Ikauniks
Jeannette Lee
Kim Leeds
Amy Lieberman
Susan Lovell
Blair McElroy
Molly McGuire
Rikki Morrow-Spitzer
Deborah Cundey Owen
Eleanor Russell
Mary Anne Sego
Claire Shepro
Diane Sokal
Colleen Schwitzgebel
Lynn Torgove
Esther Traub
Jennifer Webb
Andrea Wivchar
Sara Wyse-Wenger
Barbara Winchester
Majie Zeller |
Kartik Ayysola
Timothy Bakland
Brian Bennett
Thomas A. Best
Joe Burke
Heming Cao
Quincy Cason
Christopher Casrlson
Ethan DePuy
Carey D. Erdman
Bruce Fithian
Joshua Glassman
N. Thorne Gricsom
Edward Hinson
Charles Husbands
Robert Loud
Daniel Mahoney
Michael Merullo
Peter A. Owens
Eric Christopher Perry
Kurt Pfrommer
Dwight E. Porter
Daniel Rosensweig
Jason Sabol
Xiao Shi
Richard Simpson
John Svullin
Jeffrey Wang
Stephen Williams
Eran Zelixon |
Sudeep Agarwala
Christopher Berns
Richard Butler
Edward Candidus
Adrian Cho
Lawrence Chvany
Brian Church
Mark-Andrew Cleveland
Benjamin Cole
Shelby Condray
Anand Dharan
Kamil Ekinci
James Frens
Eugene Gover
John Graef
Nathan Halbur
Robert Henry
James Liu
Allyn McCourt
Alan McLellan
Ryan Mewhorter
Kevin Neel
Ian Pomerantz
Will Prapestis
Warren Pyle
David Rockefeller Jr.
David Rolnick
Max Rydqvist
Ethan Sagin
Stefán Sigurjónsson
David Smyth
Matthew Stansfield
Scott Street
Charles Turner
Dana Whiteside
Ron Williams |