MCC welcomes NIU choir Cor Cantiamo for concert

McHenry County College will host a choral concert featuring Cor Cantiamo, the Northern Illinois University School of Music Ensemble in Residence, at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, in the Luecht Conference Center at the college, 8900 Route 14 in Crystal Lake.

Cor Contiamo will perform "Inspirited: A Concert Exploring the Divine," directed by Eric A. Johnson, the ensemble's founding artistic director. He also is director of Choral Activities at NIU, where he directs the Concert Choir, Chamber Choir and teaches choral literature and conducting. He earned his doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Illinois.

As a touring chamber choir in residence at NIU, Cor Contiamo was founded with the mission to perform and promote contemporary choral music and foster new composers for the art form. Since their founding in the spring of 2009, the choir has become an accomplished vocal ensemble, receiving accolades for their performances. In their inaugural year, Cor Cantiamo performed with Morten Lauridsen, who praised the ensemble for presenting "choral artistry at its finest."

Cor Cantiamo has performed at community and collegiate concert series throughout the Midwest and maintains an active concert schedule in the Chicago area.

In November 2013, the chorus performed at the Michigan Festival of Sacred music and premiered, "Hear My Voice," a commissioned work by Michigan composer Daniel Knaggs. From the spring 2012 through fall 2014 concert seasons, Cor Cantiamo will have presented multiple world and U.S. premieres, and featured works by contemporary composers such as Eriks Ešenvalds, Sven-David Sandström, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Peter Bannister, Galina Grigorjeva, and Daniel Kellogg.

The concert is free and open to the public. Donations are requested. The concert is sponsored by a grant from the Friends of McHenry County College Foundation.

For more information about the concert, call (815) 861-2774.