About Us
Vocal ENSEMBLE CANTATE NOBIS
Our Story
Over the past 10 years, since Vocal Ensemble Cantate Nobis was established with the leadership of Mária Husznay-Thormann in 2011, the choir of has become a significant and prominent figure of the cultural life in Jászberény, our hometown. Our current membership of 26 singers mainly consists of prior colleagues, students and friends of our choir master.
Cantate Nobis was granted the „Gala choir” rating in 2014 by the expert jury, on the second of -thus far- 6 annual Regional Choir Festivals organized and hosted by our choir, and which has become the hallmark of Cantate Nobis, and a much anticipated event every fall by other choirs.
Our repertoire consists of an ever increasing 160 pieces of both secular and religious nature. Over the past 10 years we have had over 150 appearances on stage at town and community events as well as festivals or stand-alone concerts. Some of the most precious memories for us are the concerts at the Old Academy of Music, the Hungarian National Galery and Erkel Theatre in Budapest. Our members give the majority of the singers in the monumental multi-art production “JÁSZOK historical play”, while Mária our choir lead headed up the joint choir. Directed and choreographed by Gábor Mihályi, of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble. The composer of the two-hour play is László Melis (who among many others composed the music of the Academy Award winning Hungarian movie Son of Saul).
We have been spreading the good reputation of the deep-rooted choir culture of Jászberény upon our multiple visits to our sister town in Germany. In 2016 we joined the Madrigalchor Vechta for the original premiere of Missa da Requiem by Cristoph Kirchberg a contemporary composer. The Hungarian premiere of the requiem, written for mixed choir, baritone solo, chamber orchestra, and trombone, was held the following year in Jászberény, which again was an excellent example for cooperation with our friends from Vechta. In 2019 we again stood on the same stage with our friends from Vechta to perform Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana upon the celebration of 1200th anniversary of Visbek (a neighboring town to Vechta).
Our goal is to tackle the ever-changing challenges, our pursuit is to continually develop our skills, and our passion is to serve the needs of our ever-increasing audience as well as shape their taste in music.
Financial and other official dealings of Cantate Nobis is handled by an officially registered entity, the Cantate Nobis Vocal Ensemble Association, since 2014, thus facilitating our enrolments to project tenders and other sponsorship opportunities.
Mária Husznay-Thormann, the choir master of Cantate Nobis used to teach music, choir leading and related subjects between 1977 and 2010, as an Associate Professor at the Jászberény Faculty of Pedagogy of Szent István University. For decades she led the female and mixed choirs of the Faculty. In 2016 her tireless work was recognized by the town of Jászberény and she was granted the Sipos Orbán Award for Culture and Art.