Additional Activities to Reach Students As Far Away as Japan

San Francisco, October 17, 2005--Chanticleer, the Bay Area’s internationally acclaimed, 12-man a cappella ensemble, holds its sixth annual Youth Choral FestivalTM on Friday, October 21st at First Unitarian Universalist Church (1187 Franklin Street) in San Francisco. The Festival is a key event in Chanticleer’s Singing in the Schools education program, which sees significant expansion this season.

Over 250 students from six Bay Area high school choral groups will participate in Chanticleer’s Youth Choral Festival 2005. After an intensive day of work with the men of Chanticleer, the six student groups join Chanticleer in concert at 7:30pm. This year’s participating groups are: Analy High School (Sebastopol); Acalanes High School (Lafayette); Davis High School; Menlo School (Atherton); Palo Alto High School; and Washington High School (San Francisco). The evening performance is free and open to the public, but seating is severely limited and reservations are required. Contact Chanticleer at 415-252-8589, or info@chanticleer.org for reservation information.

In November, Chanticleer presents a day-long choral workshop for 100 adult singers in Tokyo, Japan along with appearances before approximately 400 students at two Tokyo elementary schools. This is the ensemble’s first major educational event in Asia. Chanticleer’s debut Middle School Youth Choral Festival will be held in January 2006 in San Francisco; additional Festivals for high school students will be held this season in Fresno, CA; New Canaan, CT; and Minneapolis, MN. These are in addition to some two dozen Bay Area school visits that take place throughout 2005-06, conducted by Music Director Joseph Jennings and ensemble members. Last August the first annual Chanticleer in Sonoma Choral Workshop was held in conjunction with Sonoma State University. Seventy adult amateur choral singers from 16 states, Canada and Japan attended the four-day workshop.

Major funding for the Youth Choral Festival has been provided by: The Bettye Poetz Ferguson Foundation, The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, The Walter & Elisa Haas Fund, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, David Henry Jacobs, The Jordan Family Fund, Jim Meehan and The Bernard Osher Foundation.

EDITORS: Photo opportunities available throughout the day and at the evening’s concert on Oct. 21.

Contact: Nancy Roberts, 415-252-8589 ext. 306, nroberts@chanticleer.org

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