Cantus bids farewell to Tim Takach

Cantus vocal ensemble is losing one of its core members and co-founders, bass vocalist Tim Takach.

Takach and a few friends at St. Olaf College started Cantus as a means to keep singing after graduation.  Now it's considered one of the premiere men's vocal ensembles in the country.

After seventeen years Takach is stepping down to work on other pursuits. In an interview with MPR Classical's Allison Young, Takach explained that the timing was right:

"Cantus has been a big part of my life for a long time and in the beginning when people would ask me 'how long do you plan on staying' I'd say 'well I want to see if this thing works or falls on its face. And once we get to either one of those points, then I'll be satisfied.' And it was working, and then it kept working, and it got better, and the company keeps growing(laughs) and I think if I'd stuck to that I'd be with it forever. But it's a full time job - it's a big responsibility and I've been sort of nursing my composing career alongside it for a number of years. It seemed like time to downsize a bit and focus."

Takach was inspired in part by his wife Jocelyn Hagen, who is a full time composer.

Takach will sing three more times with Cantus this weekend at the Cowles Center in Minneapolis.

• After five years, State of the Arts comes to a close
• Park Square’s second stage to open Friday
• Most critics find ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a dreamy delight
• Michael Kareken fills two galleries with ‘Parts’