Peninsula Cantare

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Peninsula Cantare

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Peninsula Cantare is a community choir based in Palo Alto, California. Our vision: A world that explores the human experience through musical storytelling

Peninsula Cantare is a community choir based in Palo Alto, California, led by Artistic Director, Jeffrey Benson, PhD. Peninsula Cantare is dedicated to keeping alive the great choral masterpieces and exploring new music for the education and enjoyment of our audiences. Program repertoire ranges from the Renaissance to the 21st century from a ca****la pieces to major works with orchestra. We are a 501(c)(3) corporation so any donation is tax-deductible, and will be used for scholarships and musicians. Please consider contributing through our Facebook, Instagram, AmazonSmile, or our website, www.peninsulacantare.org.

10/10/2026

Sectionals are a time-honored tradition for Peninsula Cantare, a way for the group to come together not only to better learn the music, but to get to know each other better as a community of singers and artists.

Here are your Cantare sections for the holiday concert 2026 cycle! (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass)

Thanks to each of the singers who hosted us in their homes last Tuesday night, as well as to the section leaders for running each sectional!

Marina Pandora Box Pia Harper Cody Scott Will Schneider Robyn Peters

10/05/2026

Like pumpkin spice lattes and Taylor Swift albums, we’re back like an encore, baby! Raise your hands if you’re as excited to hear the glorious singing of a large choir as we are!

Peninsula Cantare officially kicked off its 2026-27 concert season a couple of weeks ago, as we get ready for our annual “Deck the Halls” concert, coming up on December 19, Saturday, in Palo Alto.

Our vision continues to be exploring the human experience through musical storytelling. Our concert season this year is chocked-full of goodies from perennial classics like Poulenc’s 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢, to world premieres by contemporary composers, to pieces from around the globe that capture our shared humanity in all its beauty.

Early-bird (eg, discounted!) tickets are on sale today for our “Deck the Halls” concert December 19th, as well as our third annual fundraiser show on October 24th, “An Evening of Cabaret”, featuring solos and small acts from some of the Bay Area’s best performers.

Get your tickets today at peninsulacantare.org/concerts/

10/02/2026

Music, dancing, and giant puppets, oh my! – members of Peninsula Cantare took to the streets of Palo Alto to sing at the city’s 3rd annual Calenda last Saturday (9/26).

A colorful and festive Oaxacan tradition, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘴 are part street party and part parade. A joyful Cantare contingent joined the street parade, and performed 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘝𝘪𝘥𝘢 (José Galván) – a Mexican piece we sang in our March concert this year that rejoices in the rhythm and beauty of living in the present.

Calenda is organized by the nonprofit, Neighbors Abroad of Palo Alto, an all-volunteer organization affiliated with Sister Cities International and the City of Palo Alto. We were grateful to have been invited to such a wonderful civic event celebrating the cultures of Palo Alto’s Sister Cities of Maasai Mara, Kenya, Oaxaca, Mexico, and Palo, Leyte, Philippines.

Photo by Roland Wilhelm, HeyRolandPhotography

08/18/2026

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐔𝐒! The SF Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards has named Peninsula Cantare a finalist in 4 different categories, including Fav Choral Ensemble. 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝟏𝟓 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬!: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V9KWL3N

Share with other Cantare fans!

08/13/2026

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐔𝐒! We are so excited to be listed as a finalist in the SF Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards -- in 4 different categories, too!!! 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝟏𝟓 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V9KWL3N

Vote by Aug 19 (Weds), and share this post with your other Peninsula Cantare-loving friends!

07/01/2026

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐨! Besides fearlessly leading the mighty basses, Truesten has an exquisite baritone voice that we've been so lucky to have!

𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝?
TRUESTEN: My favorite way to spend my weekend is traveling/exploring new cities!

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞?
T: It would be to eat as much as I want, whatever I want, and not gain any weight. lol.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫?
T: I wouldn’t say I have a best/worst song but I’m currently listening to a lot of Rosalía and Bad Bunny.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬?
T: One of my favorite Cantare memories is the after hours sight reading parties in Europe! Haha You had to be there!

06/29/2026

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔-𝟐𝟕, 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠!

We continue to boldly explore the human experience through musical storytelling by programming the stunning choral-orchestral piece 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 by French composer Poulenc, works from today’s brightest young composers like Elaine Hagenberg's 𝘈𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢 𝘝𝘪𝘢 (West coast premiere!) and Jake Runestad's 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, and a world premiere by composer Brandon Williams.

You won’t want to miss our concerts this season. From holiday music accompanied by a professional brass quintet and our beloved candlelight processional, to sweeping choral epics accompanied by one of our largest yet professional orchestras, to contemporary classics like Joni Mitchell’s 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘸, there is something for everyone that will stir the heart!

Plus, don't forget our third annual "An Evening with Cabaret" gala fundraiser this October featuring musical theater, jazz, and pop standards sung by some of the Bay Area’s best performers over food and drink.

Come celebrate hope, joy, love, and our collective humanity with us this season!

Information and tickets to our concerts are up now on peninsulacantare.org/concerts!

06/25/2026

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 (𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞), Ronald V Hodges! Here he is pictured in a recent photo ;-).

Ron is also one of the original board members of Cantare from when the group first became an independent nonprofit all the way back in 2004. He's currently serving as treasurer, a role he took over in 2012.

Thank you Ron for all these years of doing so much for us and singing with us! As per tradition, we get to know Ron a little better through a few quick Q's and A's:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬?
Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef during the 1988 choir tour.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?
I've only owned one car in my life. It is now 54 years old. A 1972 Chevy Nova Super Sport.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝?
Eat out on Saturday and attend church Sunday.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?
Fixing computer issues.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫?
The best music ever is Bach's 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.

06/16/2026

Happy birthday to Mary De La Rosa!

She is one of our esteemed board members, two years into the role, providing countless hours of behind-the-scenes support and brainpower to Peninsula Cantare. 🔥❤️🧠

And she's also a long-time singer in the choir as well!

We wanted to wish her a very happy birthday today, and thank her for all her hard work, and beautiful singing that she contributes to our group!

06/09/2026

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫, Jeremy Ryan (𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲)! Jeremy (shown here with these two charmers), who also lends us his beautiful tenor voice, has been with Cantare for years. As stage manager, he's responsible for making sure our venues are set up and ready to go, as well as torn down after shows. It's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that is crucial towards making sure our shows go as smoothly as they do!

Here we do a quick Q&A with Jeremy to get to know him better:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬?
JEREMY: My favorite memory has to be our trip to Spain and Portugal, because I also did an Ireland/England/Scotland trip before and after for my 30th!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?
J: I love puzzle art! Paint by numbers are my fave, and recently started to cross stitch.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫?
J: The best song with a music video is 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳 by Mumford and Sons, go check it out on YouTube!

Address

P. O. Box 60964
Palo Alto, CA
94306

Website

http://www.peninsulacantare.org/

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