Multiple Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer—deemed “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker—is known around the world for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. With its performances rooted in the Renaissance and including a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz, and popular music, Chanticleer is one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world.
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 world.
In addition to its ever-expanding repertoire, Chanticleer practices a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has committed much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, 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 more than 8,000 people, and an annual concert series that includes its legendary holiday tradition A Chanticleer Christmas.
