One could not have harmony if everyone sang the same note. Without diversity, harmony would never arise — an idea applying not just to music.

In music, harmony has always revealed itself best in singing a cappella. Chanticleer, a 12-member Grammy Award–winning a cappella ensemble based in San Francisco, sounded harmonious in San Quentin’s Chapel A on January 11, as the group presented a dozen songs with superlative and unrivaled precision. In other venues, tickets to hear them would often run into hundreds of dollars.

“It took us eight years to get them to come,” said sponsor Linda Rice, a classically trained pianist added that she had heard them perform at least 20 times. “They’re so, so, so good. I’m just in awe every time I hear them.”

The musical term “a cappella,” defined as “without instrumental accompaniment,” meant that during Chanticleer’s performances, only voice — and perhaps the occasional finger snapping — provided the concert’s sound. “I have never seen a show like this. They’re awesome,” said San Quentin resident Luis Lopez, 29.

Chanticleer consisted of Andy Berry, bass; Tavian Cox, countertenor; Luke Elmer, countertenor; Jared Graveley, bass-baritone; Matthew Knickman, baritone; Vineel Garisa Mahal, tenor; Matthew Mazzola, tenor; Cortez Mitchell, countertenor; Bradley Sharpe, countertenor; Logan Shields, countertenor; Andrew van Allsburg, tenor; and Adam Brett Ward, countertenor.

Having six countertenors — tenors with an unusually high range — counted as a great feat for Chanticleer, for countertenors have always counted as a sought-after rarity, said Rice. She added that she considered Chanticleer’s countertenors especially high quality.

In his introduction of the group, van Allsburg said Chanticleer started in 1978 and had its origins in music from the Renaissance. It has since expanded its repertoire to classical, jazz, gospel, and popular music.

Chanticleer’s music director, Tim Keeler, sat in the audience during the concert. “I am here just for moral support,” he said. Keeler joined the ensemble as a singer and ascended to its music director in 2020. “We perform about a hundred concerts a year and during the last Christmas season, we did two concerts a day,” Keeler added. “We will go to Clemson [University] in South Carolina next, then to Savannah, then Florida, and then to Tennessee.”

An interview with bass and former Whiffenpoof member Andy Berry demonstrated Chanticleer’s remarkable vocal prowess. While standing perhaps three feet in front of him, his speaking voice in conversation resonated so powerfully that one could literally feel his every word as he spoke. Berry received his undergraduate degree from Yale (Stiles, ‘13) in psychology and then advanced to graduate school at the Yale School of Music. He said he performed in Mozart operas and hoped for a future career in that field.

Countertenor van Allsburg started the evening’s performance with “Straight Street,” soon joined by a solo from tenor Mazzola, rounded out by countertenor Sharpe. The most unusual song of the evening came from the contemporary composer Majel Connery (b. 1979). Countertenor Adam Brett Ward explained Connery’s song “I Am a Cloud” as “part punk rock,” but the song also had a passage reminiscent of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” performed in spoken-word style.

The audience had the most familiarity with the song “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell. “The concert was absolutely incredible,” said resident Timothy Holmes, 60. “The talent of these young men is beyond comprehension. It was such a blessing to have them come in.”

Chanticleer received Grammy Awards for John Tavener’s “Lamentations and Praises” and its commissioned works “Colors of Love.” The group also received the Dale Warland/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming. For his contribution to the African-American choral tradition, Chanticleer’s Music Director Emeritus Joseph Jennings received the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award.

As a nonprofit, Chanticleer receives support from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bernard Osher Foundation, the Bob Ross Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

San Quentin Chaplain Fr. George Williams said, “We are lucky that San Quentin can attract world-class musical groups. Experiencing music like this enhances our effort to rehabilitate.”

Sponsor Linda Rice said, “They’re so great because they are humble.”