Cantus Youth Choirs – For youth of Idaho's Treasure Valley

Join Now

Join now Learn more

The Finale

Videos and recordings from The Human Heart concert are NOW AVAILABLE!

Watch now

Register for Season 13 by July 15 and save $40 per singer.

Join now

Season 12 Finale Show

Highlights

Take a look at our photo book from The Human Heart, the Season 12 Finale at The Brandt Center on Saturday, April 30, 2022. Thirty two numbers performed by 6 ensembles, 13 instrumentalists, over 20 crew, and over 180 singers. Browse over 500 photos from Heather Walker and Brian Kohagen.

CANTUS MEDIA

Recordings

Listen to some of our featured singles released on worldwide streaming platforms like Apple Music, Shazam, Spotify, Amazon, and more. Also, check out our music videos, sheet music store, and videos from our live performances.

What is Cantus Youth Choirs?

About Us

Cantus Youth Choirs is a non-profit community choral program for youth of Idaho’s Treasure Valley. Each week, hundreds of youth gather from Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Middleton, Star, and Kuna to make music. With multiple traditional and contemporary ensembles that frequently interact and perform together, singers ages 8 to 18 enjoy making music with friends young and old.

Learn more

Fortis practicing formations during rehearsal for their performance of "I'll Be."

When and where do I rehearse?

All ensembles meet weekly on Tuesday nights. We call this “Cantuesday.” Weekly rehearsals are a combination of fun and hard work. Semester one begins in September and goes through December, ending with our Winter Concert. Semester two starts in January and goes through April, ending with our Finale Concert. We rehearse at Tree City Church on Eagle Road.

Nearly 270 youth take the stage to sing "O Holy Night" with guest artist Melissa Heath and Erika McCauley directing.

How much is tuition?

Cantus Youth Choirs is a non-profit community youth choir that runs concurrently with a typical school year (September through May). Tuition is based on grade and term of enrollment and ranges from $125 to $450. You can register for a semester to try it out and see if you like it. Or you can save a little bit and register for a full year. You can pay up front or by installment plan.

Which ensemble will I be in?

We take all singers, grades 3 through 12. If you’re in 3-7th grade, we don’t need you to audition. All 8-12th graders submit an audition so we know which voice part to assign them (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). There are 4 traditional ensembles and 4 contemporary ensembles. There are additional fees to be in a contemporary ensemble.

What is Cantus?

Take 2 minutes and find out ...

A Labor of Love

Meet the directors

Cantus has a number of big and small traditional and contemporary ensembles. These ensembles are directed by compassionate educators, who are experienced performers and musicians.

Read director bios

Krista Carroll

Associate Director

Brandi Cook

Associate Director

Erika McCauley

Artistic Director

Keith McCauley

Vice President

Annie Roberts

Associate Director

Cara Stewart

Associate Director

What is the Cantus reach?

12 years of Statistics

Cantus Youth Choirs was started in 2010. Cantus performs an average of 3 concerts per year: a concert in the winter, a concert in the spring and a tour concert. Several of our tour concerts have been benefit concerts geared toward raising money for families in need.

2,571

cumulative enrollment

185

current enrollment

26,566

cumulative concert guests

performances to date

What are people saying about Cantus?

Testimonials

Cantus Youth Choirs offers a unique set of opportunities for youth: leadership, performance, personal development, travel, and solo performing opportunities. This has resulted in continued growth for Cantus enrollment and its youth members.

Read accolades from Cantus families

Meri KayParent

Inspiring music!

The choice of music has been very inspiring! The instruction the youth have received has been wonderful and they have really learned to sing!! It has been “The best musical experience of my life!” according to my son. Read more

MarissaParent

High expectations

We loved Mrs. McCauley’s high expectations of the singers. She set clear and high standards for behavior and work ethic and the kids rose to meet and exceed them. My daughter has loved being in choir because of her. Read more

RyleeYouth singer

Make more friends

I love the discipline that Mrs. McCauley has and how well-behaved the choir is. I love all the games that helped me make more friends. I definitely like the sound that the choirs make and what we were able to accomplish. Read more

What does it cost to join?

Tuition and Fees

You can join per semester or you can join for the entire year. Semester one runs from September through December, and semester two runs from January through April. Learn more about our payment plans, tuition fees, outfit fees, financial aid, and optional tour.

Learn more about fees