Chanticleer An Orchestra of Voices 

Musical America named San Francisco’s Chanticleer, a twelve-member male chorus with voices ranging from countertenor to bass, 2008 Ensemble of the Year—the first time a vocal ensemble has been so recognized. Chanticleer commemorates the 300th anniversary of “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free,” the first American song, with a program demonstrating the diversity of song in America in the context of song throughout the world. Highlights of the Wondrous Free program include: early American hymns; Mexican Baroque works; The Homecoming, a newly commissioned work by David Conte that uses text by John Stirling Walker in memory of Martin Luther King Jr.; Ave Maria-Scarborough Fair by Paul Chihara; American folk songs including “Shenandoah” and “Wondrous Love”; and American jazz and gospel works.