Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179) was an abbess, composer, writer, philosopher, and mystic born in Bermersheim vor der Höhe, Germany. She is considered one of the most influential women in medieval music and is sometimes referred to as the “Sibyl of the Rhine” or “The First Woman of Western Music.” At an early age,… Read more »
Sarah Quartel was born and raised in Great Britain in a family of musicians. A typical day would feature mom singing arias in the kitchen while cooking dinner, and dad, a church choir director, practicing his harpsichord in the basement. Sarah recalls “I think I was eight years old before I realized that having a… Read more »
Mari Esabel Valverde is a Mexican-American composer based in Forth Worth, Texas. Born and raised in Texas, she began studying music at a young age. All her life, Mari has had a passion for foreign languages. As a child, she wanted to study French, but her parents wanted her to understand the language of her… Read more »
Faith Morgan Zimmer is a choral composer, poet, singer, songwriter, illustrator, and pianist based in Minnesota. She has a diverse background in music, having studied both classical and jazz piano as well as voice, choral conducting, and music theory. Faith has childhood memories of sitting down at the piano after dinner and experimenting with musical… Read more »
Elaine Hagenberg is an accomplished pianist and singer who is becoming well-known as a contemporary American composer and arranger of choral music. She was born and raised in Vancouver, Washington, and studied at Washington State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree, and Portland State University, where she earned a Master of… Read more »
Diane Loomer (1940-2012) was a Canadian musician, conductor, and founder of the Elektra Women’s Choir. She was born on July 31, 1940, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her parents were both music lovers, and her mother played the piano and sang in a choir. Manifesting an early aptitude for music, she began taking piano lessons at… Read more »
We are excited to participate in GivingTuesday to help kick-start the Canticle Singer’s giving season on Tuesday, November 15th! Our main goal for GivingTuesday is for Canticle Singers to reach new audiences in order to gain a larger and more sustainable support base. Please consider a sustaining monthly gift, and/or a matching challenge so we… Read more »
Greetings friends! Welcome back to our new year, and what a full and exciting year it is! We are fortunate to be part of two concert series, perform a world premiere, and collaborate with two other excellent women’s choirs in the Baltimore/Washington area! Your generous partnership makes it all possible, so we are grateful to… Read more »
The Emerging Composer Competition was a success! We received 52 entries from all of the United States, coast to coast and north to south. Moreover, we received compositions from Armenia, Argentina, Austria, and Brazil! To ensure a non-biased approach to the compositions, our President, Anne Lopez, received all entries, biographies, and pieces of music. She then made… Read more »
The beauty of life is that it is multi-faceted. Mother’s Day has many facets as well. For some, it is a time of great joy, and for others, it is a difficult time. We acknowledge and honor this. The following is a bit of history about the holiday as we prepare to sing for you…. Read more »