Brent Ault puts the finishing touches on a piece to be performed by CANTO Chamber Choir for the Cherry Spring Festival June 7 - 10. The director dreams this will become an annual celebration of the arts for all the senses. Photo by Phil Houseal
Details:
The CANTO Chamber Choir debuts the 1st Annual Cherry Spring Festival June 7-10 at Mansefeldt Sheep Barn and Christ Lutheran Church in Cherry Spring just north of Fredericksburg. Tickets for the four-day event can be purchased by going to www.cantochoir.org.
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CANTO springs forth
by Phil Houseal
May 30, 2007
Eight years ago, Brent Ault had a dream for a festival in Fredericksburg.
He imagined a multi-day event that celebrated all the arts and all the senses, in a glamorous setting. This June, it will finally happen, as the 1st Annual Cherry Spring Festival springs forth at Harlan and Dian Stai's ranch north of Fredericksburg.
"It was an idea that we would have a summer festival that would celebrate not just choral music, but also the visual arts, a multilayered experience that included food and wine," Ault said. The Stais agreed.
"We both knew it would be a wonderful thing," Dian Stai recalled. "It was a great concept, but it hadn't come together until now. We were going to do it 'someday,' and 'someday' is here."
Ault is Director of CANTO, a community choir of professional musicians and "highly-skilled amateurs."
"CANTO is an interesting organization," Ault said. "We are not just a community choir - there is a high level of musicianship. At this event, we are partnering with highly talented individuals who will help us improve. That's important. When you perform with these people, it raises you up."
The people performing represent the best of several artistic fields. They include the actor Douglas Skrief speaking on the poetry of Robert Frost; Julliard-trained tenor Donald Braswell; storyteller Tom McDermott; acclaimed pianist Janet Pummill; and Fredericksburg native soprano Ava Mason Pine.
Ault designed the festival so there would be a different experience every night. Thursday features Texas artists; Friday is poetry and music; Saturday presents "Music of the Americas;" and the finale - "Dream a little dream" - brings everyone together for a "collage-styled" concert.
Rebecca Rather - Fredericksburg's Pastry Queen - tops off each evening with a dessert selection. As one who slavers over her wicked concoctions every Saturday morning, I can declare that to be worth the price of admission by itself.
Ault is passionate about bringing people to not only this event, but ultimately closer to the arts.
"Part of the mission of CANTO reads 'to deeply engage our audience.' How, I thought, can I make music really connect with the audience? It is such a spiritual experience, so I know how powerful that can be."
Ault believes he has come up with the combination of ingredients at this event that will fulfill his dream.
"I am excited about this, but more excited about what it will be five years down the road," Ault said. "I want it to grow and be a strong, regional festival that uses local talent, but pulls from the rest of the country."
"Think about it: In this little community - you can't even call it a town - in a converted sheep barn, we are bringing in talent that has played in Carnegie Hall. It is a great way to showcase CANTO and to showcase the great talent in a great setting."
So come out, enjoy a glass of wine, sit down to a concert, and "dream a little dream."
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