Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble Competitors

One of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf offers an academically rigorous education with a vibrant faith tradition. A St. Olaf College education develops the habits of mind and heart that enable students to embrace the challenges of a changing world, leading to lives of professional accomplishment, financial independence, and personal fulfillment. This uncommon educational experience is grounded in intellectual rigor, residential learning, global engagement, and a deep commitment to the exploration of the important questions of faith. These pillars help St. Olaf students become fully formed and actively engaged individuals prepared to make a difference in the lives of their families, friends, colleagues, and communities. Many excellent colleges provide one, two, or three of the elements of the St. Olaf experience. What makes St. Olaf unique is the combination of so many distinguishing features working together at the highest level: an intense academic program that sharpens minds, and an emphasis on a global perspective that broadens them; the vitality of a residential community that engages thoughtful people across the full range of human experiences, and a faith tradition that encourages reflection and honors different perspectives.

The Dallas Symphony's mission statement is to inspire and change lives through musical excellence. Since 1900, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has grown from a 40-person ensemble to a world-class orchestra performing in one of the world's finest concert halls. The home of the DSO, the Meyerson Symphony Center is just as integral to the sound of the music as the musicians themselves. The members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's musical community build upon a rich 125-year tradition of artistic excellence and masterful musicianship. The DSO is committed to inspiring the broadest possible audience with distinctive classical programs, inventive pops concerts and innovative multi-media presentations. Visit our website at www.dallassymphony.org for more information.

The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling more than one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the globe. Rooted in the Renaissance, Chanticleer’s repertoire has been expanded to include a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz and popular music and to reflect a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has dedicated much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, garnering Grammy Awards for its recordings of Sir John Tavener’s Lamentations & Praises and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled Colors of Love. Chanticleer is the recipient of Chorus America’s Dale Warland Commissioning Award and the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. During his tenure with Chanticleer, its Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings received the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African American choral tradition. Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer continues to maintain ambitious programming in its hometown of San Francisco, including a large education and outreach program, and an annual concert series that includes its legendary holiday tradition “A Chanticleer Christmas.”