Cantus: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Is there some kind of weird vocal vortex in Minnesota? The state turns out so many excellent choral groups — at the school, church and professional levels — that it can arguably be dubbed the choral center of the U.S. The members of the male vocal ensemble called Cantus, who huddled around Bob Boilen’s desk to sing for us, hail from that vortex — specifically Minneapolis-St. Paul. A quick note on the group’s name, because it’s more appropriate than you might think. “Cantus“ means “singing“ in