A Chanticleer Christmas

Hailed by The New Yorker as “the world’s reigning male chorus,” Chanticleer is a Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble. Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer is known as “an orchestra of voices,” and has become one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling over one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the world.

Chanticleer’s repertoire is rooted in the Renaissance and has continued to expand to include a wide range of Classical, Gospel, Jazz, popular music, and a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has committed much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, garnering Grammy Awards for its recording of Sir John Tavener’s Lamentations & Praises, and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled Colors of Love. Chanticleer is the recipient of the Dale Warland/Chorus America Commissioning Award and the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, and its Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings received the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African American choral tradition during his tenure with Chanticleer.

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 that recently reached over 8,000 people.

Don’t miss this legendary ensemble’s annual holiday tradition “A Chanticleer Christmas” at SOPAC!

Meet the Singers of Chanticleer

Andy Berry (bass; occupies The Eric Alatorre Chair, given by Peggy Skornia)
Zachary Burgess (bass-baritone)
Matthew Knickman (baritone)
Vineel Garisa Mahal (tenor; occupies the Tenor Chair, given by an Anonymous Donor)
Cortez Mitchell (countertenor)
Gerrod Pagenkopf (countertenor; occupies The Ning G. Mercer Chair for the Preservation of the Chanticleer Legacy, given by Ning and Stephen Mercer)
Kory Reid (counter tenor)
Bradely Sharpe (countertenor)
Logan S. Sheilds (countertenor)
Andy Van Allsburg (tenor)
Adam Ward (countertenor)