San Francisco Chronicle“They are, to put it directly, one of the world’s best.”
New York Times“These men are phenomenal: as fresh as a blade of grass, tightly focused and keenly expressive.”
Los Angeles Times“Chanticleer fascinates and enthralls for much the same reason a fine chocolate or a Rolls Royce does: through luxurious perfection.”
Chicago Tribune“I can’t think of another ‘orchestra of voices’ that can shuttle with such proficiency from Renaissance polyphony to gospel, contemporary classical to jazz.”
San Diego Story“The twelve men on this team of spectacular vocalists handily fill the pews of the church sanctuary every visit because of their stellar artistry and their impressive repertoire of pieces commissioned by Chanticleer or specifically arranged for the capabilities of this elite ensemble….they sing with an incomparable urban—and urbane—joie de vivre.”
Dallas Morning News“Among the most versatile and virtuoso singers anywhere. They have style, and they have class. They also have an infallible sense of pitch, a very flexible ensemble and a deeply ingratiating sound.”
BachTrack“Chanticleer’s stage presence was eye-catching in its precision and its elegance … However, it was the mellifluous singing with its seamless blending of voices and effortless polyphony in Palestrina’s Gaude gloriosa that was more astounding still.”
Classics Today“America’s a cappella pride and joy.”
Boston Globe“The singing of Chanticleer is breathtaking in its accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, variety of color and swagger of style.”
San Jose Mercury News“Chanticleer could sing the Turtles’ greatest hits and make them sound like heavenly hosannas. That’s how extraordinary it is, this 12-voice male choir. It produces a sound of sheer beauty. It’s an oasis in a noisy and disturbing world.”
Known around the world for its eclectic repertoire and dazzling virtuosity, the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer has been hailed by the Boston Globe as “breathtaking in its accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, of color and swagger of style.” 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, an “orchestra of voices” performing thousands of live concerts and selling more than one million recordings.
Under the leadership of Music Director Tim Keeler, Chanticleer maintains a schedule of approximately 100 performances a year in the U.S. and internationally. During the 2026–27 season, the ensemble tours in the U.S., Canada, and Europe with their new program, “Paradise,” exploring humanity’s eternal longing for the ideal. Spanning centuries, cultures, and styles, the program includes songs of praise by Renaissance composers Tomás Luis de Victoria and Giovanni Valentini; biblical interpretations of paradise in Milhaud’s “Psalm 121” and Duruflé’s “Ubi Caritas”; visions of earthly love in Sibelius’s epic Finnish love song, “Rakastava”; and a collection of contemporary songs including arrangements of Jacob Collier’s “Little Blue,” Richard Evans’s “Journey to Recife,” and Manuel Sánchez Acosta’s “Paraíso Soñado.” Chanticleer also continues to celebrate America’s 250th year of independence with the “Our American Journey” program, showcasing the diverse voices, songs, harmonies, and rhythms of the nation and featuring a commission from Trevor Weston. Other Bay Area programs during the season include director Elkhanah Pulitzer’s staging of “The Machaut Project: Devotion and Desire,” following the release of Machaut on Delos / Outhere Music; the group’s iconic holiday program, “A Chanticleer Christmas”; and joint performances with the early music string ensemble ACRONYM.
Rooted in the Renaissance, Chanticleer’s repertoire has expanded over nearly five decades to include a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz, and popular music. With a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements, Chanticleer foregrounds American repertoire and a distinctively American sound, complementing the group’s signature diversity in terms of membership and genre. The ensemble has dedicated much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, garnering Grammy Awards for its recordings of Sir John Tavener’s Lamentations & Praises and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled Colors of Love. Chanticleer’s 2002 album Our American Journey was inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2025. The group is the recipient of Chorus
America’s Dale Warland Commission Award and the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Chanticleer’s Music Director Emeritus, Joseph H. Jennings, received the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African American choral tradition – comprising more than a hundred arrangements – during his 25-year tenure as both singer and Music Director.
Among the more than sixty composers commissioned by Chanticleer are Mark Adamo, Matthew Aucoin, Mason Bates, Régis Campo, Chen Yi, David Conte, Shawn Crouch, Douglas J. Cuomo, Brent Michael Davids, Anthony Davis, Gabriela Lena Frank, Guido López-Gavilán, Stacy Garrop, John Harbison, William Hawley, Jake Heggie, Jackson Hill, Kamran Ince, Jeeyoung Kim, Tania León, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Michael McGlynn, Peter Michaelides, Nico Muhly, John Musto, Tarik O’Regan, Roxanna Panufnik, Stephen Paulus, Shulamit Ran, Bernard Rands, Steven Sametz, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Jan Sandström, Paul Schoenfield, Steven Stucky, John Tavener, Augusta Read Thomas, Janika Vandervelde, Trevor Weston, Ayanna Woods, and Zhou Tian.
Chanticleer’s award-winning education programs – recognized with the 2010 Chorus America Education Outreach Award – include workshops given as the ensemble tours, Youth ChoralmFestivals in the Bay Area and around the country, and masterclasses for university students nationwide. In the 2026–27 season, Chanticleer’s educational outreach takes the group to the University of Rochester, Florida Gulf Coast University, University of Kansas, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, a multi-day residency at University of Iowa, education/youth concerts in Santa Fe, and a week-long residency at Banff.
Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis A. Botto, who sang in the ensemble until 1989 and served as Artistic Director until his death in 1997. Chanticleer became known first for its interpretations of Renaissance music, and a wide range of early music remains the cornerstone of their repertoire. In a recent New Yorker article, Alex Ross praised the group’s “dulcet rendition” of a rondeau by Machaut, in which “voices brushed against one another like roses swaying in a breeze.” The group was also a pioneer in the revival of South American baroque, recording several award-winning titles in that repertoire. Named Ensemble of the Year by Musical America in 2008, Chanticleer was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame the same year.
Chanticleer – a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation – is the current recipient of major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the E. Nakamichi Foundation, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Dunard Fund/USA, the Bernard Osher Foundation, the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Bob Ross Foundation, and Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund. Chanticleer’s activities as a not-for-profit corporation are supported by its administrative staff and Board of Trustees.
2026-2027
