Monterey County vocal group celebrates the holidays with concerts and outreach

A Monterey County vocal group is offering a free Baroque Christmas concert at the Stanton Theater in King City. And I Cantori di Carmel also hopes to capture the attention of young singers.

Music director and conductor Daniel Henriks says outreach is a way to give back to the community.

"We are working with high schools and with music teachers down in this area (southern Salinas Valley) to get school kids—high school kids—that exposure to classical music that I had naturally in my life. And not everybody gets this exposure," Henriks says. "And if we can spark the joy in classical music and live music, or the curiosity, in a few of these kids, that would be a tremendous success. And we're really looking forward to that."

KAZU's Lisa Ledin spoke with Henriks about the group's commitment to this region. Click the audio player to hear their conversation, or see the highlights below.

Interview Highlights

On collaboration

Alexa Dieterle

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courtesy of I Cantori

We have our second Vocal Arts Academy and we're very excited that David Gordon is joining me on the faculty. He's a very accomplished tenor, especially in the repertoire that we are singing this year, all over the globe. He was basically the evangelist in Bach's "Passions," and sang a lot of this oratorio repertoire all over the world. And it's so great that we could get him to be part of it and share his knowledge, skill and wisdom with these young artists. David and I really agree on a lot of things. Our approach to making music and the spirit and the philosophy behind it and why music, particularly Johann Sebastian Bach's music, is so healing for people. We share a lot of that. And I'm very happy about that collaboration.

On bringing live music to more people in the area

We're trying to to make this a hub for choral arts. And we are we are definitely here to stay and continue on this path. Also, as an audience member at a classical music concert, you'll be part of something. You're not just listening. You'll be in the space with the musician. There is nothing better than live music. There's really nothing better.

Daniel Henriks is I Cantori di Carmel's music director and conductor. Among their holiday concerts is a free performance of “A Baroque Christmas,” on Dec. 21st at the Stanton Theater in King City.

I Cantori Di Carmel is one of KAZU’s many underwriters.