“The choir’s intrepid Music Director Daniel Henriks gathered the forces to produce an excellent account of the Oratorio’s first three cantatas. The chorus sounded spectacular under Henrik’s direction.”
​Barbara-Rose Shuler, Monterey Herald

​I Cantori di Carmel is an auditioned volunteer chorus that seeks excellence in choral performance. Our programs include masterworks of the symphonic choral repertoire as well as lesser-known jewels for chorus. 

I Cantori di Carmel (Italian for The Singers of Carmel) has been bringing choral classics to the Monterey Peninsula since 1981. We perform concerts twice annually, in the spring and fall, at the Carmel Mission Basilica and other venues on the Central Coast. Approximately every three years we embark on a European concert tour where we have the opportunity to sing in magnificent cathedrals, churches, and concert halls. Often we coordinate with choirs in our host countries for shared performances. 

Our Music Director

​Daniel Henriks
​
Daniel Henriks has been praised as a versatile, unconventional and passionate conductor and opera singer. His international career as a dramatic baritone has led him to opera houses and concert stages across Europe.
 
Highlights of his operatic performances to date include heroes and villains of the Italian dramatic baritone Fach, including Rigoletto, Falstaff, Amonasro in Aida, Scarpia in Tosca, Tonio in I Pagliacci. German operatic roles include Pizarro in Fidelio, Stefan in Lortzing’s Regina and Peter Besenbinder in Hänsel und Gretel.  The focal point of his conducting work encompasses choral masterworks such as Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Zoltan Kodaly’s Missa brevis or Verdi’s Quattro pezzi sacri as well as Schubert, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Brahms’ symphonies and orchestral works by Sibelius, Wagner and Bizet.
 
Formerly a member of Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover and Oper Köln, Daniel now works internationally at houses such as Staatsoper Stuttgart, Opera Zürich, Theatre National du Luxembourg, Opera Maastricht, Theater an der Wien, Nationaltheater Mannheim and Weimar, Staatsoper Saarbrücken, Schwerin as well as Theater Bern. Festival highlights include the Wiener Festwochen, the Mozart Festival La Coruna and several seasons at the Edinburgh Festival. Equally at home on the concert stage, orchestral engagements consist of performances at the Cologne Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus Dortmund as well as the Norddeutsche Rundfunk. Artistically, most influential collaborations occurred with directors Peter Konwitschny, Calixto Bieto, Jossi Wieler, Frank Corsaro, Joachim Schlömer, Hans-Günther Heyme, Luc Perceval and conductors Manfred Honeck, Friedrich Haider, Carlo Rizzi, Enrique Mazzola, Mario Venzago, Markus Stenz, Cornelius Meister and Michael Hofstetter.
 
At the young age of 13, Daniel conducted his first choir and began his studies in music theory, harmony and orchestral and choral conducting. While still in high school, he interned with the music director of the Aalto Opera Essen and received training in conducting at the Folkwang conservatory. At age 18, he served as founding music director of a symphonic orchestra and concert chorus comprised of international conservatory students and young professional musicians. Under his baton, they performed a broad choral and orchestral repertoire in Germany and on tour in Europe.
 
In recent years, Daniel has gained renown as a vocal coach and voice teacher and has taught in his private studio in Berlin and Hannover as well as in masterclasses in France and Malta.
 
Daniel received his Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School of Music in New York in 2000 after completing his studies at the Conservatory in Hannover, Germany.
 
He currently divides his time between Carmel, California and Berlin, Germany. When he is not on stage, he can be found flying small airplanes, hiking the California coast with his dog Bonsai and enjoying a good glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

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 History of I Cantori di Carmel 

On September 23, 1981, several members of the Carmel Bach Festival Chorus met to discuss the idea of forming an independent choral group on the Monterey Peninsula. From the beginning, the emphasis was on gathering together quality singers who would be dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in choral performance.

The charter group of 27 singers began the search for a Musical Director who would meet their high performance standards. They found Dr. Sal Ferrantelli, new to the Monterey Peninsula and the music department at Monterey Peninsula College. Dr. Ferrantelli's love of choral music, his extensive knowledge of choral literature, his sensitivity to both the technical and emotional dimensions of the music, and his high expectations for artistic mastery were a good match for the group.

The singers chose a name, I Cantori di Carmel, and gave their inaugural concert on March 28, 1982. The first program included several 16th and 17th century madrigals and motets and selections from works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms and Fauré. The review of that concert by Scott MacClelland, then music critic for the Monterey Herald, set the tone of critical acclaim for which the group has since been known. He described the performance as "displaying clear articulation, true intonation and, more important, vital spirit, with Ferrantelli leading with vivid attention to shape, phrase and dynamics, and an abiding commitment to his art."

In the next few years the members established a formal structure for the organization. A Board of Directors was selected and by-laws were developed, with a mandate for annual election of Board positions by the membership.

The group grew in size and was eventually limited to approximately 60 members. The semi-annual concerts have embraced choral/orchestral selections from the Renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary periods. Major works performed have been Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Mass in C Major, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Theresa Mass, Handel's Messiah, Brahms's Deutsches Requiem, J. S. Bach's Magnificat, and Verdi's Te Deum. Other works have included Vivaldi's Gloria; J. S. Bach's Cantatas nos. 106 and 150; Handel's Coronation Anthems nos. 2 and 4 and Chandos Anthems; Britten's Te Deum, Jubilate Deo, and A Ceremony of Carols; opera choruses by Verdi; and additional works by Brahms, Bruckner, Rutter, and Mendelssohn.

 In 1994, I Cantori undertook its first European tour. We are looking forward to our tenth tour in 2022. In Spring 2017, after leading the group for 36 years, Sal Ferrantelli retired from MPC. From Fall 2017-Spring 2018 Tom Lehmkuhl became our conductor followed by Dr. Cyril Deaconoff from Fall 2018 to Spring 2020.  Daniel Henriks began his tenure as Music Director on July 1, 2021.

Our Board of Directors

President: Susan Mehra
Vice President: Seth Bates
Secretary: Jane Felton
Treasurer:  Gayle Smith
Publicity: Alexa Dieterle
Operations: Sarah Saxby
Ways and Means: Chris McCrum
Music Director: Daniel Henriks

Our Vision

To cherish and preserve the heritage of great choral music and to enrich ourselves and the community through live performance.
To provide a forum for choral singers to learn and perfect their art with a goal of performing with integrity of technique and expression.

Our Mission

The mission of I Cantori di Carmel is:
To perform a variety of quality music from all style periods.
To approach the literature with respect.
To perform regularly in live concerts.
To maintain an effective organizational structure with skillful, dynamic, inspired leadership.
To provide a nurturing, self-disciplined learning environment.
To assemble a group of singers capable of growth and accomplishment in vocal technique.
To attract and develop choral members who share a commitment to the organizational vision; who are committed to performing with integrity of technique and expression; and who come with a commitment of time, energy and concentration.

I Cantori di Carmel at the Carmel Mission Basilica, with Dr. Sal Ferrantelli and Pianist Pauline Troia.