Education Programs
Choral Arts Ensemble supports several programs that bring choral music to our community.
Why Choral Music is important
Recent studies show that choral activities are essential for community health. The 2019 Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime revealed that music education in schools is key to lifelong singing and the benefits it brings. The majority of adults singing today say they began singing because of a school choral music education opportunity. Over half of all choral singers started in elementary school, and three-quarters started by the end of high school.
The study further highlighted the importance of choral groups in communities. People of all ages who sing feel more connected to others and better able to socialize. Choral singing also promotes healthy, vibrant aging and even improvements to chronic health conditions.
Choral Conductor's Network
​For more than 20 years, CAE has supported the music community through the Choral Conductors Network (CCN). CCN's primary goal is to serve regional school, church, and community choir directors by offering educational programs and fostering cooperation in our choral community. Through CCN, choral directors share and learn from expert clinician in workshops and master classes and from their peers through reading sessions and informal gatherings.
CCN membership is free and all choral directors in Southeastern Minnesota are invited to join.
High School Music Festival
To encourage passion and skills for choral singing in our youth, we offer our annual High School Festival - Singing For Life concerts, giving three High School choirs exposure to multiple coachings with a professional conductor and a side-by-side performance opportunity with the highly skilled CAE adult singers.
Student Feedback
Teacher Feedback
"What I liked best was the opportunity to sing as a mass choir with the other schools and the Choral Arts Ensemble (plus a chamber orchestra and soloist)." "I especially liked the venue and the school visits from Rick & Jan. " ​"I loved singing in such a beautiful space with amazing acoustics." "It was an enjoyable experience & wonderful to bring art to life" "Thanks choir, very cool"
"The music was tough - especially with a large number of school snow days, but I liked that it was something I wouldn't otherwise be able to program." "It was good for my students to hear CAE and the other choirs perform and giving them the experience of hearing the professional tenor soloist." "I appreciated the pre-festival coaching when Rick came to my class before the festival! The coaching by the singers of Cantus made my students really think about how they breath and use their whole bodies to sing."
Heart to Heart Singers
Launched in the fall of 2018, Heart to Heart Singers is a rotating roster of current and former Choral Arts Ensemble singers who bring the restorative and comforting power of music to those in Alzheimer’s and hospice care centers, and to patients and families at the Ronald McDonald or Gift of Life Transplant House. Our mission and ability to “inspire, educate, and enrich the community through outstanding choral performance” has now been extended to provide quality choral performances to special needs audiences where they are. A familiar hymn or folk song can spark a mind of someone with Alzheimer’s, or give encouragement, comfort, and support to a patient, family member, or health-care worker during a stressful time.
Audience sizes range from less than 10 people when the group sings bedsides in a hospice house, to over 500 when asked to sing for a community event. All of the locations visited have asked to remain on the group’s calendar. After being out of these locations due to COVID, we hope to return to a more regular schedule during the 2024 - 2025 Season.
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Listener Feedback
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"My mother, Audrey, passed away recently. I wanted to let you know that we both so appreciated the singers during her time in hospice care. That you could sing the hymns and special songs she loved made her (& me) so happy – it meant so much!"
​"Thank you for singing at our community’s summer gathering. The songs you selected were well-known, fun, and got everyone’s toes tapping!"