The Grammy award-winning musical ensemble Chanticleer will be performing at Eastern Illinois University in Doudna Fine Arts Center’s Dvorak Concert Hall on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. 

Chanticleer, founded in San Francisco in 1978 by Louis Botto, has won Grammy awards for its recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations & Praises,” and its collection of commissioned works called “Colors of Love,” according to Chanticleer’s website biography. 

The ensemble’s performance at Eastern comes as a part of Doudna’s Classical Music Artists Series, an endowment at Doudna that allows groups from elsewhere to perform there, according to Director of Programming, Publicity and Promotion Dennis Malak. 

“That along with our New and Emerging Artist Series are what allows us to bring in a lot of these groups,” Malak said. 

Malak said he reached out to Chanticleer in November 2023 about coming to perform at Doudna on this date. The reason he wanted to reach out to Chanticleer was because of their specific vocal genre. 

“We haven’t brought in a good classical vocal group in a long time, so this is more of a choir,” he said. 

Alongside Chanticleer’s performance, Eastern’s choir will also be performing. 

Last semester, Malak put Director of Choral Activities Howard Eckdahl in contact with one of Chanticleer’s leaders so the two could organize and plan which songs they want to perform. 

Both groups plan to do a 2-hour rehearsal for the event at 2 p.m. before performing a sound check and performing for the public, according to Malak. 

“It’s very fast,” said Malak. “It’s a nice experience for the students though because it gives them a good real world experience of how much time you typically have in a venue when you’re out performing professionally.” 

Malak also said audience members can expect to hear excellent vocal choir performances and songs. 

Tickets for Chanticleer featuring Eastern’s choir are on sale now at doudnatix.com or the Box Office between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and one hour before the event for $25 for the general public, $20 for staff and seniors and $15 for students. 

In addition, parties with four or more members will save $5 per ticket per person. 

Luke Brewer can be reached at 581-2812 or at lsbrewer@eiu.edu.