By Charles Trafelet
Oct. 28, 2015
There are four Greek loves, and with Cantus, a nine-man a capella ensemble, students are invited to explore each one through song.
The program they have created is titled “The Four Loves” and it is based on the four ancient Greek categorizations of love; those being Eros — romantic love; Philia — friendship; Agape — spiritual love and Storge — familial love.
“This will be the fi rst time students will be able to experience something like this on campus,” Stacy Sherman, Young Auditorium associative marketing specialist, said.
The chamber ensemble is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Cantus tours an average of 13 weeks a year, in addition to a home concert series, an active schedule of education outreach and an annual recording project.
Auditions are for anyone interested, so the group is composed of people all over the country.
Students involve themselves backstage to make sure the experience runs smoothly and other music students are hosting a workshop before the Cantus performance.
Audience members have the opportunity to meet the Cantus in its entirety to learn about their art form and craft.
This event also is part of the Bramblett Chamber Series named in honor of a faculty member, Jerry Earl Bramblett. Its donors help to bring in chamber styles of music to campus once per semester.
“Jerry Earl Bramblett was a part of UW-Whitewater faculty for 21 years. He was a solo pianist and a chamber musical collaborator. So, it’s in his memory,” Sherman said.
Matthew Goinz is a baritone member of Cantus. “[The new commissioned pieces are] pretty extraordinary considering that at most we normally only get one a year, but now we have four,” Goinz said. “We wanted to do something on the concept of love for a long time.”
Cantus has a goal to bring new life to already established melodies.
Sherman describes the group as being “fresh and original.”
A capella hasn’t exactly found its way into the mainstream of society. Shows like “The Sing Off” are its only feed into the public eye.
“They’re adding their own angle to it, but I don’t think the tunes are necessarily original,” Sherman said.
The musical style isn’t widely known and this is Whitewater’s way of bringing those kind of performances to campus.
Cantus is coming to Whitewater and will be performing at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 in the Young Auditorium.
Ticket prices are $9.25 and this event is open to the public as well as students at Whitewater.
These prices for events are usually published and donors help to reduce that price. Students have the opportunity to use one of their two WOTA vouchers assigned to their Hawk ID card in order to get into this event for free.
“Our mission statement is to share human experiences,” Goinz said.
