"One of the Rochester area's cultural crown jewels" (Rochester Post-Bulletin Oct. 23, 2009)

About Choral Arts Ensemble

Since its founding by Rick Kvam in 1985, the forty voices of Choral Arts Ensemble have inspired audiences with performances of marvelous choral repertoire. We are in our 27th season, the eighth under Artistic Director Michael Culloton.

Choral Arts Ensemble is equally dedicated to the creation and performance of exciting new music as well as the sensitive presentation of masterworks from the Renaissance to the 20th Century. (Click here for a list of performed repertoire) The 2011-2012 season is no exception, beginning with Carmina Burana in October and through all our concerts. We are welcoming two guest conductors this year. Dr. David Dickau, Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, will be on the podium for Christmas at Assisi, and Dr. Matthew Culloton, Founder and Artistic Director of The Singers-Minnesota Choral Artists, will join us for An American Spring in May. We have premieres of new works in December (the first annual Lloyd Ketterling Christmas Carol written by Rene' Clausen) and in May (a new piece written by the winner of the 2010 Choral Arts Ensemble Commissioning Contest, Brian W. Holmes). Details about the season can be found under the Concert Series heading at the top of this page. Auditions are held each spring, usually in May.

Choral Arts Ensemble coordinates the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Harmony for Mayo Program, a program of Mayo Center for Humanities in Medicine. Free weekly concerts are held Mondays from 12:10-1:00 pm on the Mayo Clinic Campus, featuring a variety of music ranging from classical to country. Concerts are open to patients, staff, visitors, and the general public. Small groups from within Choral Arts Ensemble also have performed for various community events.

Audiences can also enjoy Choral Arts Ensemble music at home. The Ensemble has discography that includes live Christmas recordings, Christmas at Assisi 2005 and Christmas at Assisi 2006; the October 2005 release, Never Be We Mute; our cd of love songs, Seasons of Love, a choral favorites cd, This Shining Night (available digitally only), our compilation cd There is a Balm and our cd celebrating Minnesota composers, Hail Minnesota, released in October 2008. Our two newest Christmas cds are Joy to the World, released in October, 2009, and There is No Rose: Ten Carols Commissioned in Memory of Mary Joyce Frantz, released in December of 2010.