Cantus, The King's Singers to perform onstage together in Minneapolis

Two fabled vocal groups, one from Minnesota, the other from England, will perform together onstage at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on Thursday, Feb. 12. It’s the very first time the two groups — Minnesota-based Cantus and London-based The King’s Singers — have ever shared a stage, despite their longtime admiration one another’s work.

Ahead of the concert, YourClassical MPR’s John Birge spoke to a member of each ensemble: Iowa-born tenor Paul Scholtz of Cantus, and New Zealand-born first baritone Chris Bruerton of The King’s Singers. Use the audio player above to listen to the full interview and to hear a preview of the music happening at Orchestra Hall on Thursday.

Interview Transcript

John Birge: This Thursday, two of the best singing groups in the world share one stage for the first time. They are Cantus and The King's Singers. The stage is Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. And sharing our broadcast booth today are two singers, one from each group, both of whom are on tour at the moment; from Cantus, Paul Scholtz. Good morning, Paul.

Paul Scholtz: Good morning. Thanks so much for having me.

John Birge: From The King's Singers, Chris Bruerton. Good morning, Chris.

Chris Bruerton: Good morning. Thank you so much for having me.

John Birge: Well, it's really an exciting concert by two groups who, if you don't know Cantus and The King's Singers, have a great history. The King's Singers founded at King's College, Cambridge University, back in 1968. Cantus started as a student group at St Olaf College in Minnesota back in 1995. But Paul, I'll start with you, because I understand when you were a kid, you grew up listening to both groups, and now you get to actually perform with Cantus and The King's Singers. So tell us about that kid in Iowa. What did he hear that attracted him so much?

Paul Scholtz: That's exactly right. I still remember being a singer in high school, and, you know, small town Iowa, I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, I was not one of those kids who knew they wanted to be an astronaut or a marine biologist, but in high school, I really got inspired singing in choir, and I remember a particular moment when our choir director played two different songs. One was "Dulaman," by Cantus, and the other was "Fair Phyllis" by The King's Singers. And I could not believe how together they were as an ensemble. You know, both Cantus and The King's Singers, but The King's Singers, obviously, have have their own special tone, which was just arresting for a kid who'd never heard anything like it.

John Birge: Chris, a question for you. Clearly, Cantus and The King's Singers have a mutual admiration society, that's why you're sharing this concert. But if both groups were exactly the same, then you wouldn't need both of them. So tell me about the differences between The King's Singers and Cantus that make them complement one another.

Chris Bruerton: Well, I think one of the interesting things is the makeup of the ensembles. I mean, we are two countertenors, a tenor, two baritone and a bass, and have been since day dot, and our two lovely countertenors on top offer the angelic things that are missing from the lower voices. But I think with Cantus, it's a little bit more of a tenor-and-bass combination, and not so much on the sort of flutey, English choral countertenor sound. I was really moved by what they were doing during the pandemic. Everyone was at home. We were all trying to find some purpose, and I was drawn to the work that they were doing in underground car parks and various things. And it was absolutely stunning. And it was so impressive. So I've been a fan of theirs for a long time, and I remember meeting a couple of the guys back in Minneapolis 12, 13, years ago, maybe? So it's just wonderful to see how their career has grown, and it's going to be such a joy to share the stage, finally!

John Birge: And when you share the stage for this concert, tell me how you mapped out who would sing which pieces and when, and separately and together. If we go to the concert of Cantus and The King's Singers Thursday, tell us what we're going to hear.

Paul Scholtz: We wanted to highlight, to frame the repertoire around this idea of friendship. And Cantus and The King's Singers coming together here for the first time, and now for, I don't know, six months, eight months, we've been talking, having Zoom chats. We're highlighting composers, poets and musicians that have had friendships over the years, that have produced art. I know we just cannot wait.

John Birge: I love that even though you planned this six, eight months ago, started talking about it, you know, just in the past couple of weeks, a program with a theme of friendship and human harmony has never been more needed in Minneapolis than it will be on Thursday night. So good timing.

Paul Scholtz: One of the moments specifically in the show that we're really excited to bring forward are two pieces from our touring show this year, which was a celebration of immigrant composers, and then coming out of that, we're going to invite The King's Singers on stage to sing "MLK" by U2, which is a famous Bob Chilcott, King's Singers arrangement. It celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King, inspiring people to come together, to stand up in the face of injustice, collective action, nonviolent resistance, which I think, I know, we in Cantus are just so proud of our Minnesota community and how they've responded to ICE agents being in our community. And so it's going to be a beautiful moment, getting to honor Renee Good and Alex Pretti, but also our immigrant neighbors, who we lift up and we really feel for in this time.

John Birge: Well, I know the recording that you're talking about that The King's Singers made of "MLK" by U2, so let's hear some of that as a sneak preview. We're talking with Paul Scholtz from Cantus and Chris Bruerton, a singer from The King's Singers, about their concert coming up on Thursday.

John Birge: That's the U2 song, "MLK," and it will be one of the selections on the program Thursday night at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis. The voices you just heard, The King's Singers, teaming up with some voices you probably know, the Minnesota-based group, Cantus. We're talking about their first-time collaboration, Paul Scholtz from Cantus and Chris Bruerton from The King's Singers. Chris, I hear that this is your last season after a long run singing with The King's Singers. 

Chris Bruerton: Yes, it is. Yeah, I've got three months left, and I'm just trying to enjoy every last minute. So it's a real treat that we get to sing in Orchestra Hall one more time. It'll be my fifth concert there in my time in the group. I've always, always enjoyed singing there. It's an amazing space, and the audience is always right up for it. So it's going to be just a wonderful occasion.

John Birge: And this is not only the first collaboration of Cantus and The King's Singers sharing the stage, but you guys are on tour right now, and so if I understand the logistics, you will have just a little bit of time to actually sort out the concert and then sing it. Am I right?

Chris Bruerton: Yes. We are meeting the day before and are going to be putting all the work that we've done individually into practice. We trust them, and I hope they trust us, and it's going to be absolutely fine. Yeah, it's very exciting when you have this opportunity to work with other artists, because you always learn something about yourself by watching the way they prepare, the way they interact, the way in which they engage with the music and you and the audience. So I'm really looking forward to that.

John Birge: As am I, and I should tell listeners that although the concert is one night only, Thursday at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, you will be able to stream it through February 22.

Paul Scholtz: Yeah, that's right. You can visit our website at cantussings.org.

John Birge: Excellent, and that'll be there for — gosh! — 10 days. So that's a wonderful opportunity. If you can't get to the concert, the concert can get to you. Gentlemen, thank you for taking some time out of your morning to talk about this. It's a great collaboration, and I can't wait to hear and see you guys onstage at orchestra Hall. Paul Scholtz from Cantus, thanks so much.

Paul Scholtz: Thank you. 

John Birge: And Chris Bruerton from The King's Singers, thank you, and we'll see and hear you soon.

Chris Bruerton: Thank you so much. I can't wait.

Ticket information for Cantus and The King’s Singers on Thursday, Feb. 12, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis is available on the Minnesota Orchestra’s website.