About the Choir
City Cantábile Choir, now in our 20th anniversary year, presents musical works from many cultures as well as the choral classics of Western civilization. In the pursuit of our mission, we have been privileged to perform with Dave Brubeck, Eduardo Mendonça, Hamza el Din, Pat Wright, Kent Stevenson, and Paco Peña, among other musical greats.
We have been distinguished for performing Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and Orff's Carmina Burana. In July 1996 we toured Europe, singing by invitation in Austria's 1000th anniversary celebration. In addition, we have introduced Seattle to the African mass Missa Luba, the Andean mass Misa Criolla, and the Chilean Canto General, the poems of Pablo Neruda set to music by Mikis Theodorakis. After several concerts of Celtic music, in winter 2000 we blended Celtic and West African music, drums, and instruments based on the folk rhythms common to both cultures.
Most recently, we've been recognized for our work in interspecies musical communication: for the last several years, we've used specialized underwater speakers to sing for the Orca pods off the San Juan Islands and were featured for our efforts on 60 Minutes II in January 2001. The New York Times TV division and the German TV network ARD are currently preparing follow-up stories on the Orca Sing project for 2001.
Fred West, artistic director and conductor, founded City Cantábile
Choir in 1981 after studying composition with Edwin LaBounty, choral conducting
with Robert Scandrett, and instrumental conducting with William Cole at
Western Washington University. Since then, he has pursued studies in advanced
conducting with Weston Noble, Doreen Rao, Rodney Eichenberger, and the
eminent Robert Shaw. For the last decade, he has taught music to Seattle
children at the Spruce Street School, the Northwest School, and elsewhere.
The choir has premiered many of West's original compositions, including
Christmas Cantata, Mass for the Children, and the environmental oratorio
Upon This Land.
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